Patton Fund Management Inc. Makes New $229,000 Investment in Genuine Parts Company $GPC

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. invested $229,000 in Genuine Parts Company, acquiring 1,887 shares in the second quarter, as disclosed to the SEC.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Assenagon Asset Management, have significantly increased their stakes in Genuine Parts, with 78.83% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other large investors.
• Genuine Parts announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.0%, and reported earnings of $2.10 per share for the previous quarter, surpassing estimates.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,887 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 276.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,352,772 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $399,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461,497 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 377.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 933,418 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $113,233,000 after buying an additional 737,836 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 22.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,845 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $327,974,000 after acquiring an additional 498,469 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 acquiring an additional 473,975 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts during the first quarter worth about $41,646,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Genuine Parts Trading Up 1.1%

GPC opened at $137.80 on Monday. Genuine Parts Company has a 12-month low of $104.01 and a 12-month high of $144.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $136.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.31.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Genuine Parts's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Genuine Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

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

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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