Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 618 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $96,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 109.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 149.0% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 138.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:GPC opened at $141.43 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $170.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.77 and a 200 day moving average of $146.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.92.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 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 company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $453,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,967,677.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GPC. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.44.

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.