EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 12,050 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 69.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,050 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $391,604,000 after acquiring an additional 65,783 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $380,898,000 after acquiring an additional 518,851 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $337,428,000 after acquiring an additional 145,960 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,136,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $249,426,000 after acquiring an additional 104,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of GPC stock opened at $117.35 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.76. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $104.01 and a 52 week high of $158.65. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $117.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.46.

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

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price objective (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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.