UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,071 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 0.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial upped 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $118.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.31. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

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.