First Command Advisory Services Inc. Acquires New Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 243 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,809 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at $540,000. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.8% during the third quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,264,000 after acquiring an additional 7,845 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,198,000 after buying an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,499,000 after buying an additional 19,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $122.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.94. 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 has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.72.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The business 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 period last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPC shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on 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. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

About Genuine Parts

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.