Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 15,617 Shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Legato Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 32.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,176 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 15,617 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC owned 0.15% of Standard Motor Products worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SMP. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4,842.1% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Standard Motor Products by 235.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth $241,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SMP. Zacks Research downgraded Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Standard Motor Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMP opened at $38.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $861.41 million, a P/E ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.75. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.38 and a 1-year high of $46.00.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 2.31%.The business had revenue of $385.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.91 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is 71.35%.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $345,624.93. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 40,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,548.09. This trade represents a 18.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Standard Motor Products 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.