Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,057 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GPC. Conning Inc. boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 8.2% during the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,499,000 after purchasing an additional 19,795 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 4,265.9% in the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 7,252 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 113,657 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,609,000 after acquiring an additional 18,657 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 12.3% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 591,075 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $82,561,000 after acquiring an additional 64,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 137.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 22,997 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,560,000 after acquiring an additional 13,330 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $122.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.74. 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 $17.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.92. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.57.

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.