Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Issues Earnings Results

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07, RTT News reports. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Genuine Parts updated its FY 2024 guidance to 9.800-9.950 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $9.80-9.90 EPS.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC stock traded up $2.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $162.39. 3,396,404 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 974,383. The company has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.30 and its 200 day moving average is $142.34. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.59%.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,088,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,153,442,000 after buying an additional 481,039 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,189,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,209,476,000 after buying an additional 171,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,860,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $612,531,000 after buying an additional 185,529 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,977,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $497,089,000 after buying an additional 36,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 16,507.5% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,611,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $261,119,000 after buying an additional 2,595,471 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPC. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

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.