Wulff Hansen & CO. Has $1.31 Million Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Wulff Hansen & CO. cut its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,175 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Genuine Parts comprises 1.2% of Wulff Hansen & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. West Tower Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,911,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,342,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 47,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $123.98 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $120.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.03. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

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.