Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Buys 7,397 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,487 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $6,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 35,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,944 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 410.9% during the 4th quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 26,332 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 21,178 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 895,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $104,581,000 after acquiring an additional 395,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $480,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:GPC opened at $121.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.76. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $104.01 and a 52 week high of $158.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $117.82 and its 200-day moving average is $119.53. 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 (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.83 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. Equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 67.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. 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. Argus raised shares of Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.