Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,150 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,517 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC's holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 2,420 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.5% during the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 20,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,486,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.9% during the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Investors Research Corp boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 75.3% during the first 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 period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.0%

Genuine Parts stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $124.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 407,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,301,184. Genuine Parts Company has a fifty-two week low of $104.01 and a fifty-two week high of $149.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.33.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 23.71% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.