Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP Shares Sold by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,857 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 28,248 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.28% of Standard Motor Products worth $2,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMP. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the second quarter worth about $6,024,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 368.2% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 221,147 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,794,000 after purchasing an additional 173,912 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 956,691 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,390,000 after purchasing an additional 166,481 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 165.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 162,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,978,000 after purchasing an additional 101,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,905,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Trading Up 0.2%

Standard Motor Products stock opened at $37.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $824.56 million, a PE ratio of 26.77 and a beta of 0.72. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.38 and a 12 month high of $42.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMP has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Standard Motor Products currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $345,624.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 40,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,548.09. This represents a 18.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $51,934.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 37,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,435,024.40. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,895 shares of company stock valued at $606,215. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Standard Motor Products Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc, headquartered in Long Island City, New York, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket and original equipment automotive parts. Since its founding in 1919, the company has focused on engineering, testing, and supplying ignition and temperature management products for passenger cars and light trucks. Its product lineup includes ignition coils, spark plug wires, sensors, switches, heating and air conditioning controls, and related electronic components.

The company operates through two primary segments: Engine Management and Temperature Control.