Romano Brothers AND Company Boosts Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 73.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $31,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPC. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $118.43 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.69 and a 200 day moving average of $130.39. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.48%.

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.