D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 327,736 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 70.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,553 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 327,736 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.10% of Genuine Parts worth $16,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $540,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,698,737 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $198,338,000 after purchasing an additional 182,965 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Genuine Parts by 436.0% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 31,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,672,000 after purchasing an additional 25,583 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,198,000 after purchasing an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,840,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPC. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:GPC traded up $1.19 on Friday, reaching $128.67. 2,063,023 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,270,493. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $104.01 and a 1-year high of $155.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $117.71 and its 200-day moving average is $119.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.83 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio is 67.65%.

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.