Insider Selling: Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Director Sells 1,608 Shares of Stock

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GPC traded down $0.56 on Friday, hitting $121.22. The company had a trading volume of 837,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,693. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 221,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,947,000 after buying an additional 41,262 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 37.5% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 146,185 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,420,000 after acquiring an additional 39,871 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 95.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,708,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 26.8% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 15,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 3,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,229.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 32,476 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,536,000 after purchasing an additional 30,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPC. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

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.