abrdn plc Boosts Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

abrdn plc raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 358,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,279 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.26% of Genuine Parts worth $49,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 19,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 14.8% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,928 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,448,000 after purchasing an additional 4,372 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 63.1% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 78,951 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,949,000 after purchasing an additional 30,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 195.1% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 114,328 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,408,000 after purchasing an additional 75,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on GPC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $162.39 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $150.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.35. 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 $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10 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 (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 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.