Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 262 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,523 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $373,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,361 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 17.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,521,786 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $345,130,000 after buying an additional 367,665 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $235,916,000 after buying an additional 313,438 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,597,765 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $230,687,000 after buying an additional 31,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,491,923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $215,404,000 after acquiring an additional 61,764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six investment 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.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $155.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $174.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. 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.