Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 59.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,160 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 6,406 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 172,400.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,725 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.9% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,934 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 267,672 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,890,000 after purchasing an additional 23,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at $7,959,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Genuine Parts to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $114.00 target price (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.86.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.6%

GPC stock opened at $125.36 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $104.01 and a one year high of $149.22. The firm has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $119.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16.

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

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.65%.

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.

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