Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 27.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,121 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,440 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.71% of Standard Motor Products worth $4,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter worth $6,024,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the first quarter worth about $1,964,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 10.1% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 790,210 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $19,700,000 after purchasing an additional 72,753 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 320.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,037 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 48,790 shares during the period. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SMP shares. Zacks Research raised Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, EVP Dale Burks sold 1,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total transaction of $45,194.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 60,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,306,272.80. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmine Joseph Broccole sold 1,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.31, for a total value of $43,979.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 83,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,193,789.77. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,802 shares of company stock worth $260,590. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 0.5%

SMP stock opened at $37.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $821.88 million, a P/E ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.38 and a 1-year high of $42.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.77.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.22. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $498.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $503.33 million. Equities analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 88.57%.

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.