Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 1,151 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,149 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,621,000 after acquiring an additional 580,262 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,474,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $189,296,000 after acquiring an additional 239,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 980,184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $135,579,000 after acquiring an additional 223,712 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.57.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC stock opened at $125.88 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.78.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. Genuine Parts’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 51.48%.

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.