Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) CEO Sells $125,307.00 in Stock

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) CEO Eric Sills sold 2,835 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $125,307.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 184,041 shares in the company, valued at $8,134,612.20. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,353. The stock has a market cap of $985.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.81. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.27 and a twelve month high of $47.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.93 and a 200-day moving average of $38.82.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $512.90 million during 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%. Research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.30 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.28%.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMP. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,492,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,129,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,140,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,067,000. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SMP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.