Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) CEO Eric Sills Sells 2,835 Shares of Stock

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) CEO Eric Sills sold 2,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $125,307.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 184,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,134,612.20. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMP opened at $44.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $982.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.80. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a one year low of $34.27 and a one year high of $47.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.54 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.99 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the second quarter worth approximately $158,258,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,222,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $45,355,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 996,928 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $34,633,000 after buying an additional 16,664 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 472,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $17,543,000 after buying an additional 31,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,882,000. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

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.