Shell Asset Management Co. Acquires 3,277 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 108.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,312 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,277 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GPC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $391,604,000 after buying an additional 65,783 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $380,898,000 after acquiring an additional 518,851 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $337,428,000 after purchasing an additional 145,960 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 445,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,136,214 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $249,426,000 after purchasing an additional 104,343 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:GPC traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $126.91. 924,434 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,277,753. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $104.01 and a 12-month high of $151.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $118.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.96.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is currently 67.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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, Argus upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.86.

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.