Level Four Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,796 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 0.5% during 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 stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in shares of 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. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital started coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.5 %

Genuine Parts stock opened at $118.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $121.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts Company 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.