Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Insider Carmine Joseph Broccole Sells 1,708 Shares of Company 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 transaction of $75,374.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,279,079.65. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SMP traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.11. The company had a trading volume of 22,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,353. The stock has a market cap of $985.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.82. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.27 and a fifty-two week high of $47.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $512.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.99 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 13.65%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.