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

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $121.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a PE 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.55.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $458,947,000 after buying an additional 32,858 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,511,000 after acquiring an additional 30,354 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $287,405,000 after acquiring an additional 25,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,149 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPC. Redburn Atlantic raised Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

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.