Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Insider Selling

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $26.04 and last traded at $25.72, with a volume of 9884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.16.

Specifically, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $299,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,592. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $564.32 million, a P/E ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.32 and its 200-day moving average is $31.60.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,876,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the fourth quarter worth $2,710,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,258 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,405,000 after buying an additional 86,640 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at $2,524,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Standard Motor Products by 6.0% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,295,997 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $43,027,000 after acquiring an additional 73,476 shares during the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Standard Motor Products

Standard Motor Products, Inc manufactures and distributes replacement automotive parts in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Vehicle Control, Temperature Control, and Engineered Solutions segments. The company provides components for the ignition, emissions, and fuel delivery systems, such as air injection and induction components, air management valves, regulators and solenoids, exhaust gas recirculation components, fuel injectors and related components, fuel valves, ignition coils, connectors and sockets, modules, pumps, relays and fuses, starting and charging system parts, and vapor and purge components.