Rodgers Brothers Inc. Sells 12,200 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. cut its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,200 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GPC. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,809 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at $540,000. Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,198,000 after buying an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth about $21,840,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,417,000 after buying an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $118.49 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.13 and its 200-day moving average is $124.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GPC. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company distributes automotive replacement parts, and industrial parts and materials. It operates in two segments: Automotive Parts Group and Industrial Parts Group segments. The company distributes automotive replacement parts for hybrid and electric vehicles, trucks, SUVs, buses, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, farm vehicles, small engines, farm equipment, marine equipment, and heavy duty equipment; and equipment and parts used by repair shops, service stations, fleet operators, automobile and truck dealers, leasing companies, bus and truck lines, mass merchandisers, farms, and individuals.