Heritage Trust Co Makes New Investment in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 45,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,301,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at $540,000. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,198,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $21,840,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $257,124,000 after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Genuine Parts stock traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $112.98. 315,821 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,252,387. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $120.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 0.82. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.03 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts 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.