Ellsworth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 36.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,680 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 11,588 shares during the period. Genuine Parts accounts for 1.3% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $5,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 79.3% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 63.8% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GPC. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.50.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $118.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $112.74 and a 12-month high of $164.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $120.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.