Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPC. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,675,000 after buying an additional 1,555,149 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,621,000 after acquiring an additional 580,262 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after acquiring an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,474,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 253,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $116.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $120.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.22. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. Genuine Parts’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.57.

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.