Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Stock: Insider Ray Nicholas Sells 1,263 Shares

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) VP Ray Nicholas sold 1,263 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.17, for a total value of $55,786.71. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 35,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,282.22. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SMP traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.08. The company had a trading volume of 98,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,384. 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 has a market cap of $984.75 million, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.86. 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 posted its earnings results 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. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $512.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.99 million. Research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.30 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMP. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 24.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in 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 worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Standard Motor Products by 10.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,182 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Standard Motor Products by 89.1% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,159 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

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.