National Pension Service Sells 17,379 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

National Pension Service lessened its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,009 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 17,379 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of Genuine Parts worth $31,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 79.3% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 269 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 36.1% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 92.2% in the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 371 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 63.8% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 362 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $122.56. 641,941 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,773. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $132.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.18. The firm has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 0.92.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is 51.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPC. Wedbush dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $139.57.

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.