Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,364 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 11,508 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Standard Motor Products worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 270.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after buying an additional 35,245 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 192,284 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,957,000 after buying an additional 5,341 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,421 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 2,268 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 143.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,032 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 28,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the 4th quarter valued at $2,524,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SMP opened at $29.53 on Tuesday. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.38 and a 12-month high of $35.92. The company has a market cap of $649.10 million, a P/E ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.42.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.37. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. The firm had revenue of $413.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,592. This trade represents a 16.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc manufactures and distributes replacement automotive parts in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Vehicle Control, Temperature Control, and Engineered Solutions segments. The company provides components for the ignition, emissions, and fuel delivery systems, such as air injection and induction components, air management valves, regulators and solenoids, exhaust gas recirculation components, fuel injectors and related components, fuel valves, ignition coils, connectors and sockets, modules, pumps, relays and fuses, starting and charging system parts, and vapor and purge components.