29,902 Shares in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Bought by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 29,902 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,141,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 41,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 141,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,427,000 after purchasing an additional 18,522 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth $1,593,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Genuine Parts by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,344,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,249,779,000 after purchasing an additional 155,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in Genuine Parts by 507.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 9,029 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPC has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, February 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.78.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of GPC stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $154.93. The stock had a trading volume of 954,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,016,001. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.60 and its 200-day moving average is $141.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.23. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $126.35 and a 52-week high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty retailer reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 31.64%. The firm had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. Genuine Parts’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.