Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 24,202 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 24,202 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $8,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPC. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,894,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Genuine Parts Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:GPC opened at $118.49 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.13 and its 200-day moving average is $124.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

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.