Short Interest in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Increases By 19.6%

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,520,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the January 31st total of 3,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, 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 available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $391,604,000 after buying an additional 65,783 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $337,428,000 after buying an additional 145,960 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,502,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $292,233,000 after buying an additional 445,259 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE GPC opened at $127.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45. The company has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $119.53 and its 200 day moving average is $126.27.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.63.

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.