Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Sets New 12-Month Low After Insider Selling

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.16.

Specifically, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,592. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded 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 current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.60. The stock has a market cap of $564.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 64.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the 4th quarter worth about $239,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently 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.