Morningstar Investment Services LLC Acquires 2,788 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC – Get Rating) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 217,768 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,788 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $37,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 38,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,624,000 after purchasing an additional 2,766 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 29,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,186,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,502 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,157 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,817,000 after acquiring an additional 17,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, CEO Paul D. Donahue bought 1,600 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.08 per share, for a total transaction of $249,728.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,322,190.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE GPC traded down $0.92 on Friday, reaching $157.63. The company had a trading volume of 243,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,071,728. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $165.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.44. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.95 and a 12 month high of $187.73.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.68 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 32.53%. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $163.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. They noted that the move was a valuation call. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st.

Genuine Parts Company Profile

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Genuine Parts Co engages in the distribution of automotive and industrial replacement parts. It operates through the following segments: Automotive Parts Group, Industrial Parts Group, and Corporate. The Automotive Parts Group segment distributes replacement parts, other than body parts for substantially all makes and models of automobiles, trucks, and other vehicles.