Monarch Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $257,124,000 after buying an additional 114,180 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 404,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,226,000 after acquiring an additional 19,444 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,253 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 110.3% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 29,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,474 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $126.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $104.01 and a fifty-two week high of $149.22. The company has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.38.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $114.00 target price (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.