Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 26,916 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,187 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 26,916 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $10,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth $540,000. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,198,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,840,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,417,000 after buying an additional 56,776 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $124.72 on Thursday. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $120.84 and its 200-day moving average is $125.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.