Townsquare Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,511,000 after buying an additional 30,354 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,149 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $189,296,000 after buying an additional 239,858 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 29.6% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 980,184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $135,579,000 after acquiring an additional 223,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 12.3% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 591,075 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $82,561,000 after purchasing an additional 64,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Genuine Parts stock opened at $126.77 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.63. 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 market cap of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.92.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

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.