USS Investment Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in Genuine Parts Company $GPC

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has decreased its stake in Genuine Parts Company by 26.1%, selling 10,400 shares and now holding 29,483 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• Despite a solid quarterly earnings report, with $6.16 billion in revenue and a 2.9% annual dividend yield, analysts express economic uncertainties regarding the company.
• Several institutions, including Horizon Investments and Pinnacle Associates, have increased their positions in Genuine Parts, indicating overall strong institutional interest in the stock.

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 26.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,483 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 10,400 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 75.3% in the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 291 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 7,950.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPC. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.86.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC traded down $1.41 on Friday, hitting $141.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 856,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,135,903. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.34. Genuine Parts Company has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $144.29. The company has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Genuine Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.