Virtu Financial LLC Trims Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Virtu Financial LLC trimmed its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,566 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 9,868 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,264,000 after purchasing an additional 7,845 shares during the period. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,499,000 after buying an additional 19,795 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 4,265.9% in the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 7,252 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $42,417,000 after buying an additional 56,776 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE:GPC traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $114.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,589,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,520. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.05. 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 announced 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). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is 51.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Genuine Parts has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.