Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. Genuine Parts updated its FY 2024 guidance to 9.800-9.950 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $9.80-9.90 EPS.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock traded up $2.16 on Friday, hitting $162.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,396,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 974,383. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.14. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $174.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.34. The company has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 16,507.5% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,611,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $261,119,000 after buying an additional 2,595,471 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth about $239,384,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter worth about $124,130,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 239.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 774,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $129,615,000 after purchasing an additional 546,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,088,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,153,442,000 after purchasing an additional 481,039 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.