Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 24,202 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 24,202 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of Genuine Parts worth $8,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,128,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth $57,407,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after acquiring an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,803,000 after acquiring an additional 253,400 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 95.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $118.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.07.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital began coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

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.