Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 1,938 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,528 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,938 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,645,000. Equity Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,128,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,407,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,502,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $292,233,000 after acquiring an additional 445,259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GPC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $116.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.82. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $104.01 and a 52-week high of $162.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $118.98 and its 200 day moving average is $120.63.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 67.65%.

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.