River Road Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 417.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 156,148 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 125,980 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Genuine Parts worth $21,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 16,507.5% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,611,194 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $261,119,000 after buying an additional 2,595,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth $239,384,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 71.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $373,949,000 after buying an additional 1,076,361 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the first quarter worth $124,130,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $98,758,000 after buying an additional 708,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Genuine Parts stock traded up $16.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $160.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,914,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,026,787. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $174.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $149.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.09. The stock has a market cap of $22.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

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

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.