Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a buy rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $161.14.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $136.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 649,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,835. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.53. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.90.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.03% and a net margin of 5.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,675,000 after buying an additional 1,555,149 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 3,029.9% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 380,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,999,000 after purchasing an additional 368,470 shares during the last quarter. Natixis raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 768.4% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 316,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $49,014,000 after purchasing an additional 279,930 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,457.3% during the 1st quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 269,961 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,825,000 after purchasing an additional 252,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 21.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $189,296,000 after purchasing an additional 239,858 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

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.