Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Trims Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT reduced its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GPC. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital began coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $121.68 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $118.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts 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.