Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Raises Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 667 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GPC. Equity Investment Corp purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth about $84,128,000. 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 purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 253,400 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew 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 valued at $54,708,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,840,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Eight investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $123.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.21 and a 200 day moving average of $126.29. The company has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $112.74 and a 12-month high of $164.45.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

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.