Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 129 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,707 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $6,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 109.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 740.7% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.00.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $135.98 on Wednesday. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $126.35 and a twelve month high of $170.57. The firm has a market cap of $18.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.42 and a 200 day moving average of $146.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Genuine Parts’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,967,677.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.