Legal & General Group Plc Sells 212,435 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 922,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 212,435 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.66% of Genuine Parts worth $107,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,512 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company's stock.

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Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Genuine Parts stock traded down $1.72 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $114.51. The stock had a trading volume of 463,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,371. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock's 50 day moving average is $120.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.91. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GPC. Evercore ISI raised Genuine Parts from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $135.88.

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.