J2 Capital Management Inc Buys New Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,974 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPC. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,621,000 after purchasing an additional 580,262 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after buying an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the third quarter worth about $39,474,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,803,000 after buying an additional 253,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 29.6% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 980,184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $135,579,000 after acquiring an additional 223,712 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.50.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC opened at $118.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.48%.

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.