Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 656 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Union Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 740.7% during the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 7th. Wedbush cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.14.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GPC opened at $137.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $139.66 and its 200-day moving average is $145.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.90.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.59 by ($0.15). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 30.03%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

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.