Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 15,734 Shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 75.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 15,734 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $603,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $94,868,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 789,050 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $92,129,000 after purchasing an additional 530,057 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 20,194.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 476,322 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $56,749,000 after buying an additional 473,975 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,502,852 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $292,233,000 after buying an additional 445,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $133.09. 627,254 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,425,082. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $125.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Genuine Parts Company has a 12 month low of $104.01 and a 12 month high of $144.49.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Argus upgraded Genuine Parts to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.