Albion Financial Group UT Purchases 970 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,811 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPC. Verum Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the first quarter valued at about $78,000. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 22.7% during the first quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 1,775 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 11,958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,853,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 49.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 144,135 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $22,331,000 after acquiring an additional 47,656 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC traded down $2.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 645,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,086. 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 has a one year low of $126.35 and a one year high of $170.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.53.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business 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 3.00%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 44.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPC. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $453,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,967,677.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.