Short Interest in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Drops By 18.6%

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,430,000 shares, a drop of 18.6% from the February 28th total of 5,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GPC. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 target price (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $120.17 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.72. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $112.74 and a 12-month high of $164.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,717 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 6,916 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 234,216 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,347,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 126.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 114,674 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,389,000 after buying an additional 63,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.