Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $144.07, but opened at $155.88. Genuine Parts shares last traded at $158.22, with a volume of 599,456 shares.

The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Genuine Parts's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is 42.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.33.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 16,507.5% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,611,194 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $261,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595,471 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $215,643,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 71.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $373,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,361 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the first quarter worth $124,130,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 15,175.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 713,056 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $98,758,000 after acquiring an additional 708,388 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $22.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.92 and a 200 day moving average of $142.22.

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.