Deutsche Bank AG Trims Stock Position in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Genuine Parts Company by 21.3%, now holding approximately 704,650 shares valued at $83.95 million.
• Genuine Parts reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.10, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.02, with revenues reaching $6.16 billion.
• Analysts are optimistic about Genuine Parts, with multiple firms raising their price targets, including JPMorgan Chase which increased it from $134.00 to $145.00.

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its position in shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 704,650 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 191,039 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.51% of Genuine Parts worth $83,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Genuine Parts by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,698,737 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $198,338,000 after buying an additional 182,965 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 436.0% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 31,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,672,000 after purchasing an additional 25,583 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,320,000. FORA Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 410.9% in the fourth quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 26,332 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 21,178 shares during the period. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,391,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPC. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded 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 issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.29.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC traded up $1.37 on Tuesday, reaching $134.77. 847,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,314,513. The stock has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20 and a beta of 0.75. Genuine Parts Company has a twelve month low of $104.01 and a twelve month high of $144.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $126.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is presently 70.91%.

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.