Romano Brothers AND Company Grows Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 73.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,725 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,200 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company's holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GPC. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 79.3% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 269 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE GPC traded down $0.99 on Friday, reaching $118.43. 2,448,055 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 983,311. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.37. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The company has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPC. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Genuine Parts to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.