Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Given “Neutral” Rating at Wedbush

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by Wedbush in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $170.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $140.00. Wedbush’s target price points to a potential upside of 5.28% from the company’s current price.

GPC has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.44.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:GPC traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $161.48. The stock had a trading volume of 193,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,015,288. The company has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $174.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 41,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 227,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,501,000 after acquiring an additional 12,634 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth $1,593,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 141,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,427,000 after acquiring an additional 18,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 240,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,309,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.