Trust Co. of Vermont Cuts Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Trust Co. of Vermont lowered its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,492 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPC. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 9,069 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,198,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $488,000. LongView Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 84,328 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,846,000 after acquiring an additional 5,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 4,845 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC opened at $118.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.69 and a 200 day moving average of $130.39. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The company had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GPC. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.50.

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.