Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 73.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,910 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 272,281 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.07% of Genuine Parts worth $11,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,645,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at $94,868,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 204.7% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 789,050 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $92,129,000 after acquiring an additional 530,057 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 518,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth $57,407,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,040,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,302,318. Genuine Parts Company has a twelve month low of $104.01 and a twelve month high of $149.22. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $122.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.87.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.09. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 23.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.83 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.65%.

Genuine Parts Company 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.