Hendershot Investments Inc. Lowers Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Hendershot Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,809 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,198 shares during the period. Genuine Parts accounts for about 1.9% of Hendershot Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Hendershot Investments Inc. owned 0.08% of Genuine Parts worth $13,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after buying an additional 401,180 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $458,947,000 after acquiring an additional 32,858 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,511,000 after acquiring an additional 30,354 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $287,405,000 after acquiring an additional 25,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $257,124,000 after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $117.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.47. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The firm has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.