Insider Selling: Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) EVP Sells $89,162.80 in Stock

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) EVP Dale Burks sold 2,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.14, for a total transaction of $89,162.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,076,522.16. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Dale Burks also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 19th, Dale Burks sold 5,798 shares of Standard Motor Products stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $226,122.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, Dale Burks sold 3,500 shares of Standard Motor Products stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.76, for a total value of $135,660.00.
• On Friday, August 14th, Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of Standard Motor Products stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total value of $350,364.21.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMP traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.08. 98,570 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 161,384. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.12 and a 200 day moving average of $38.86. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.27 and a 1 year high of $47.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $984.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.80.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $512.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.99 million. On average, analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 43.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, October 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 76.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 11,679 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,182 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 89.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,159 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

About Standard Motor Products

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE: SMP) designs, manufactures and distributes replacement parts for the automotive aftermarket, along with components for original equipment manufacturers. Founded in 1919, the company has a long history in the vehicle-parts industry. Its products include ignition, fuel, emissions, engine-management and temperature-control parts, as well as switches, sensors and related electrical components. The company sells products under brands including Standard and Blue Streak.