Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Insider Sells $75,374.04 in Stock

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) insider Carmine Broccole sold 1,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.13, for a total value of $75,374.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 74,305 shares in the company, valued at $3,279,079.65. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMP traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.08. The company had a trading volume of 98,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,384. The stock has a market cap of $984.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.80. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.27 and a 12 month high of $47.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.86.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $512.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.99 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 3.77%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 76.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Standard Motor Products by 89.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,159 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 24.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SMP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Standard Motor Products currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE: SMP) designs, manufactures and distributes replacement parts for the automotive aftermarket, along with components for original equipment manufacturers. Founded in 1919, the company has a long history in the vehicle-parts industry. Its products include ignition, fuel, emissions, engine-management and temperature-control parts, as well as switches, sensors and related electrical components. The company sells products under brands including Standard and Blue Streak.