Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Given New $155.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) had its price target lowered by Evercore ISI from $160.00 to $155.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $168.33.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of GPC opened at $144.52 on Tuesday. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $174.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.54 and a 200-day moving average of $142.08.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty retailer reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Genuine Parts’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the 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 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 109.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.