Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,913 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 6,819 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Standard Motor Products worth $3,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 153.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at about $83,000. 81.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

NYSE SMP opened at $32.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $695.84 million, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.51. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.09 and a 52 week high of $41.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.03.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $399.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.10 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Carmine Joseph Broccole sold 913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $31,918.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 81,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,840,185.36. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $51,930.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,654.55. This represents a 4.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,454 shares of company stock worth $225,701 over the last ninety days. Company 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.