Genuine Parts Company $GPC Shares Bought by Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) by 0.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 404,250 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Genuine Parts comprises about 1.6% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $49,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Genuine Parts by 148.7% during the second quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 296 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Genuine Parts by 7,950.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.86.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE GPC opened at $131.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Genuine Parts Company has a 12 month low of $104.01 and a 12 month high of $144.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.50 and a 200-day moving average of $128.00.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 22.41% and a net margin of 3.40%.The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Naveen Krishna sold 5,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.12, for a total value of $732,450.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,589.44. The trade was a 16.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts 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.