StockNews.com Lowers Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.29.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $143.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.90. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $138.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.59 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.03% and a net margin of 5.24%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 44.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 36.1% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,042 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.9% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,616 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.8% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,437 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.