Putnam Investments LLC Sells 33,121 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Putnam Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 60.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,449 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 33,121 shares during the quarter. Putnam Investments LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 388.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,241,510 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $119,159,000 after buying an additional 2,577,514 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,384,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the first quarter valued at approximately $124,130,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 45.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,100,517 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $351,437,000 after buying an additional 656,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 239.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 774,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $129,615,000 after buying an additional 546,200 shares in the last quarter. 77.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $148.83 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $145.30 and a twelve month high of $187.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.23. The company has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.10. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 32.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.24 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $172.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 21st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $195.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.00.

Genuine Parts Profile

Genuine Parts Company distributes automotive replacement parts, and industrial parts and materials. It operates through 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 accessory and supply items used by various automotive aftermarket customers, such as repair shops, service stations, fleet operators, automobile and truck dealers, leasing companies, bus and truck lines, mass merchandisers, farms, and individuals.