Conning Inc. Increases Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Conning Inc. raised its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,795 shares during the period. Conning Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Genuine Parts worth $36,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPC. VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 24.3% in the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 5,744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.9% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 11,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 2.4% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,659 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of GPC opened at $113.61 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.10. The stock has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.92.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.48%.

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.