Ray Nicholas Sells 1,950 Shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Stock

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) VP Ray Nicholas sold 1,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $74,646.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 41,149 shares in the company, valued at $1,575,183.72. This trade represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 0.0%

SMP stock opened at $38.91 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.50. The company has a market capitalization of $866.03 million, a P/E ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.85 and a 12 month high of $46.00.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $451.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.07 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 12.98%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Standard Motor Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 506.3% in the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 34,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 28,944 shares during the last quarter. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,327,000. Tredje AP fonden acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $925,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 405.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,990 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,081,000 after acquiring an additional 40,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 850.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 84,194 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 75,339 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

About Standard Motor Products

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.