Genuine Parts Company $GPC Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. significantly reduced its stake in Genuine Parts Company by 92.2%, selling 59,237 shares in the first quarter and holding only 4,978 shares worth approximately $593,000.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Genuine Parts, with JPMorgan increasing its target from $134.00 to $145.00 and UBS from $125.00 to $135.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the stock.
• Genuine Parts Company reported an EPS of $2.10 for the last quarter, beating expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.0%.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 92.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,978 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 59,237 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 52,487 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,128,000 after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Genuine Parts by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 55,878 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,634 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 45,319 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 15,944 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $2,428,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,046 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GPC shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Genuine Parts from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.86.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $139.47 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00 and a beta of 0.75. Genuine Parts Company has a twelve month low of $104.01 and a twelve month high of $144.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.03.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.10 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 22.41% and a net margin of 3.40%.Genuine Parts's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Genuine Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio is 70.91%.

Genuine Parts 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.

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