Flputnam Investment Management Co. Makes New $322,000 Investment in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 41,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,026,000 after purchasing an additional 4,047 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 227,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,501,000 after acquiring an additional 12,634 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth about $1,593,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 141,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,427,000 after acquiring an additional 18,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 240,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,309,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $160.23 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $174.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $22.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.22.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GPC. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts 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.