Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 10,300 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 858,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 10,300 shares during the quarter. Genuine Parts comprises approximately 0.8% of Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.62% of Genuine Parts worth $100,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $391,604,000 after purchasing an additional 65,783 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $337,428,000 after buying an additional 145,960 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after acquiring an additional 114,180 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $206,645,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC opened at $116.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $120.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.91. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $164.45. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The business 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 last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.88.

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.