Evercore ISI Cuts Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Price Target to $125.00

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) had its price target cut by Evercore ISI from $128.00 to $125.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

GPC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.3 %

GPC opened at $121.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.16. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The business 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.91 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This trade 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 at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $391,604,000 after purchasing an additional 65,783 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $380,898,000 after purchasing an additional 518,851 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $337,428,000 after purchasing an additional 145,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,502,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $292,233,000 after purchasing an additional 445,259 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently 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.