Cyclical gains fuel this dividend

Article Excerpt

GENUINE PARTS CO. $125 is a buy. The company (New York symbol GPC; Income-Growth Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 144.5 million; Market cap: $18.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.genpt.com) is a leading seller of replacement auto parts. It has 1,100 company-owned stores (under the famous NAPA banner) and independent outlets in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Genuine also distributes industrial parts and electrical equipment. Starting with the April 2021 payment, it raised your quarterly dividend by 3.2%. Investors now receive $0.815 a share instead of $0.79. The annual rate of $3.26 offers you an appealing 2.6% yield. Investors have now enjoyed an annual dividend increase for 65 consecutive years. The company’s sales in the three months ended March 31, 2021, rose 9.1%, to $4.46 billion from $4.09 billion a year earlier. That’s due to improving demand for automotive and industrial equipment as the global economy reopens. Genuine continues to benefit from a recent cost-control plan. Its…