Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 122.2% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPC. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.33.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $144.07 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.56 and a 200 day moving average of $142.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $174.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty retailer reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The business had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.87%.

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.