Wendy B. Needham Sells 1,608 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Stock

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.5 %

Genuine Parts stock opened at $121.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.94. 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, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPC. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPC. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 4.9% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,616 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 6,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.7% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

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.