Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Stock: Insider Carmine Joseph Broccole Sells 1,708 Shares

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) insider Carmine Broccole sold 1,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.13, for a total value of $75,374.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,279,079.65. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

NYSE:SMP traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $44.11. 22,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,353. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.93 and its 200-day moving average is $38.82. The stock has a market cap of $985.51 million, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.80. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.27 and a 1-year high of $47.27.

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

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 76.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings 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 valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.