GENUINE PARTS CO. $64 (New York symbol GPC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 155.1 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) gets 50% of its sales and 53% of its earnings by selling auto parts. The company operates 1,300 of its own outlets under the NAPA banner, and its distribution business serves 4,750 independent stores across North America.

Genuine also distributes industrial parts (34% of sales, 33% of earnings), office furniture (12%, 10%) and electrical equipment (4%, 4%).

In January 2012, the company paid $165.6 million for 30% of Exego Group, a privately held firm that sells auto parts through 430 stores in Australia and New Zealand. As part of the deal, Genuine acquired an option to buy the remaining 70%.

In May 2012, the company paid $330 million for Delawarebased Quaker City Motor Parts, which distributes auto parts to 271 NAPA stores.

Contributions from these new businesses helped push up Genuine’s sales by 4.8% in the three months ended June 30, 2012, to $3.3 billion from $3.2 billion a year earlier. Earnings rose 11.1%, to $168.6 million from $151.8 million. Earnings per share gained 12.5%, to $1.08 from $0.96, on fewer shares outstanding. The higher sales and an ongoing cost-control plan, which lowered its expenses by $4 million in the latest quarter, were the reasons for the gain.

The stock trades at a reasonable 15.7 times the $4.07 a share that Genuine Parts will likely earn this year. The company also recently raised its quarterly dividend by 10.0%, to $0.495 a share from $0.45. The new annual rate of $1.98 yields 3.1%.

Genuine Parts is a buy.