Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,574 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,286 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $6,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $391,604,000 after acquiring an additional 65,783 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $337,428,000 after buying an additional 145,960 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $257,124,000 after acquiring an additional 114,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth about $206,645,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $84,128,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised Genuine Parts from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock 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 target (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted 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. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $135.88.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE GPC traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.02. 1,632,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,112. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $104.01 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $119.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.62. 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 company has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.82.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

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.