Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Invests $52,000 in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 58,596 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Enhancing Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.5 %

Genuine Parts stock opened at $118.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $120.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.70.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Genuine Parts Company 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.