Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 27,600 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 78.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 27,600 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on GPC shares. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price target (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $118.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.75. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts Company 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.