Virtu Financial LLC Invests $494,000 in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GPC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,643,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 15,175.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 713,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,758,000 after purchasing an additional 708,388 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,029,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $281,078,000 after purchasing an additional 431,623 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 161.2% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 578,555 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $80,066,000 after purchasing an additional 357,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $235,916,000 after purchasing an additional 313,438 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $139.36 on Wednesday. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $170.57. The stock has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $150.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total transaction of $453,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,967,677.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPC. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.33.

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.