B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Acquires 8,096 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 80.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,170 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 8,096 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPC. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,188,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $120.17 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.16 and its 200-day moving average is $123.72. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts Company Profile

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.