Baupost Group LLC MA Purchases Shares of 315,337 Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Baupost Group LLC MA bought a new position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 315,337 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $36,819,000. Genuine Parts comprises about 1.1% of Baupost Group LLC MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Baupost Group LLC MA owned about 0.23% of Genuine Parts as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,645,000. Equity Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $84,128,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $380,898,000 after acquiring an additional 518,851 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth $57,407,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 95.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $54,708,000 after buying an additional 191,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Genuine Parts from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $114.00 target price (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $135.88.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.6 %

GPC traded up $1.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $114.02. 1,632,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,112. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $104.01 and a twelve month high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $119.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.