Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,098 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,809 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $540,000. Miramar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.8% during the third quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,264,000 after acquiring an additional 7,845 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.7% during the fourth 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. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,840,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $121.33 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.73. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its 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. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts 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 value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.