Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 118,917 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,330 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.55% of Standard Motor Products worth $3,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 110,684 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,341 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,421 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,896 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 104,913 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 6,819 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Standard Motor Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.11, for a total value of $161,340.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,582,192.35. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

NYSE:SMP opened at $28.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $619.97 million, a PE ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.52. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.09 and a 52 week high of $35.92. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.76.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is presently 76.54%.

About Standard Motor Products

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.