Insider Selling: Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) EVP Sells 9,051 Shares

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) EVP Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total value of $350,364.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,728.05. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Dale Burks sold 3,500 shares of Standard Motor Products stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.76, for a total value of $135,660.00.

Standard Motor Products Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $38.82. 104,324 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,846. The company has a market capitalization of $867.17 million, a P/E ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.82. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.27 and a 52 week high of $46.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.00.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The auto parts company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $526.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $511.68 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 13.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is 58.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMP. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,142 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 32,443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 76.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 11,679 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SMP shares. Weiss Ratings raised Standard Motor Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research lowered Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Company 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.