Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,684 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Standard Motor Products worth $3,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 147.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 64.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 3,237.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.11, for a total transaction of $161,340.30. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,582,192.35. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

Standard Motor Products stock opened at $28.37 on Wednesday. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.09 and a 12 month high of $35.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $616.14 million, a PE ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.52.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $343.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. Equities analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 100.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

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.