Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) VP Ray Nicholas Sells 1,263 Shares of Stock

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) VP Ray Nicholas sold 1,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.17, for a total value of $55,786.71. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 35,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,282.22. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of SMP opened at $44.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $982.96 million, a PE ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.04 and a 200 day moving average of $38.84. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.27 and a 52-week high of $47.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMP. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 7.0% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 472,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $17,543,000 after purchasing an additional 31,036 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Standard Motor Products by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 119,521 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,434,000 after buying an additional 29,725 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $242,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,222,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $45,355,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Standard Motor Products by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,368 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the period. 81.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Standard Motor Products

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.