Blue Chip Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 57,239 Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Blue Chip Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 57,239 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,928,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,467 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Genuine Parts by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,545 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,544,000 after purchasing an additional 7,910 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Genuine Parts by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 81,632 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $11,786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in Genuine Parts by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $159.93 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $152.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.92. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $174.91. The company has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.