Highland Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 30,180 Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 30,180 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,216,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank grew its position in Genuine Parts by 19.6% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 113,657 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $17,609,000 after acquiring an additional 18,657 shares in the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 497.0% during the 1st quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 12,035 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 10,019 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 137.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 22,997 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,560,000 after buying an additional 13,330 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the first quarter worth $3,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 726.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 54,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,582,000 after buying an additional 48,122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Genuine Parts stock traded up $1.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $114.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,138,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,868. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.90.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. Genuine Parts's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is currently 51.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.57.

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.