Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 13.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 463,865 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 74,401 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Standard Motor Products were worth $14,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 2.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 131,463 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,039,000 after buying an additional 2,567 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 155,121 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,765,000 after buying an additional 33,440 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 54,801 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,905,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $51,934.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 37,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,435,024.40. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Sills sold 1,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.26, for a total value of $58,576.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 178,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,826,808.32. The trade was a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,802 shares of company stock valued at $260,590 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

SMP stock opened at $37.41 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.98 million, a P/E ratio of 26.72 and a beta of 0.72. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.38 and a 1 year high of $42.13.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $498.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $503.33 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 13.15%. Analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.57%.

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.