Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,100 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 4,809 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 9.8% in the third quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,264,000 after acquiring an additional 7,845 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,499,000 after acquiring an additional 19,795 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 4,265.9% during the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,417,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $118.43 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.39. The firm has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPC. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.50.

Genuine Parts Company 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.