Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 8,500 Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,177,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of GPC traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $163.36. 1,113,151 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,663. The company's fifty day moving average price is $151.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.62. The company has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Genuine Parts's payout ratio is presently 44.59%.

Genuine Parts 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.