Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $148.00.

GPC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Genuine Parts from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,365,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,406,923,000 after buying an additional 56,792 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,797,180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $953,779,000 after acquiring an additional 73,361 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,528,297 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $489,022,000 after acquiring an additional 21,437 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,511,008 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $424,367,000 after purchasing an additional 40,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,080,251 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $373,425,000 after purchasing an additional 70,668 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC stock opened at $136.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.71. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $143.48. The stock has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.04). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.91%.

About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) is a global distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and business products with a history dating back to 1928. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company operates a broad distribution network and retail presence serving repair shops, independent retailers, industrial customers and commercial accounts. Its business model centers on stocking and delivering a wide range of parts and supplies to support aftermarket and maintenance needs across multiple end markets.

Genuine Parts conducts its operations through several well-known operating groups and subsidiaries.