Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 8,500 Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,177,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 22,476 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,178 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,080 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GPC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC stock opened at $163.09 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $150.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.49. 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 $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 44.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.