Truist Financial Corp Lowers Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,609,017 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 122,857 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 1.15% of Genuine Parts worth $222,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 41,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares during the period. Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 227,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,501,000 after purchasing an additional 12,634 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 11,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,593,000. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 240,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,309,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GPC. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.10.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Genuine Parts stock traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $159.93. 1,000,989 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,068,926. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $174.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $152.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.98. The company has a market cap of $22.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

Genuine Parts Company 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.