Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Hits New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $26.04 and last traded at $25.72, with a volume of 9884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.16.

Specifically, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,592. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $571.91 million, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.60.

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

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 10,671 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,660 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,900 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 36,364 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 35,245 shares during the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.