Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,469 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 51,610 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Genuine Parts worth $20,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,267 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 4,342 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,882 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in Genuine Parts by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 5,005 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 73,925 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $315,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GPC traded up $1.09 on Friday, hitting $157.41. 662,832 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,477. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. Genuine Parts's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPC. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Insider Activity

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.