Crescent Sterling Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Crescent Sterling Ltd. cut its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth about $3,002,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 30,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 29,004.0% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 29,395 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,432,000 after purchasing an additional 29,294 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 131.5% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 618 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,796 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $115.99 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $120.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.00.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). The company had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 51.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GPC shares. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.