Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 3,204 Shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Genuine Parts Company by 11.4% in the first quarter, ending up with 24,786 shares worth approximately $2.95 million.
• Despite these changes, several institutional investors have recently increased their holdings in Genuine Parts, with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board notably raising its stake by 436.0%.
• Genuine Parts reported earnings of $2.10 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and projected 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,786 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,204 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the first quarter valued at $27,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 75.3% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 291 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC traded down $3.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $128.78. 2,190,627 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,439,269. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $125.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 0.74. Genuine Parts Company has a twelve month low of $104.01 and a twelve month high of $149.22.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPC has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Genuine Parts to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.29.

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.