Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,698,737 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 182,965 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.22% of Genuine Parts worth $198,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPC. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $116.95. 226,292 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,242,826. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.82. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $104.01 and a 52-week high of $162.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.54.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. Sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were 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 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GPC shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.86.

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.