16,371 Shares in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Bought by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,809 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at $540,000. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,198,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at $21,840,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 23.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,417,000 after acquiring an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE:GPC opened at $120.60 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $120.93 and a 200 day moving average of $125.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 63.68%.

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.