Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 11,100 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $7,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,300,000 after buying an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $458,947,000 after purchasing an additional 32,858 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $337,428,000 after buying an additional 145,960 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $287,405,000 after buying an additional 25,015 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after buying an additional 114,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $120.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.47. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GPC. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts 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.