Short Interest in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Expands By 10.0%

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the November 30th total of 3,000,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genuine Parts

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,149 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,621,000 after purchasing an additional 580,262 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter valued at $39,474,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,803,000 after acquiring an additional 253,400 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GPC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $115.82 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.64. The firm has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.48%.

About Genuine Parts

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.