First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 38,416 Shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP – Get Rating) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 254,348 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,416 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Standard Motor Products were worth $8,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Polaris Capital Management LLC raised its position in Standard Motor Products by 2,125.9% during the second quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 487,483 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,785,000 after acquiring an additional 465,583 shares in the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 645.1% in the 3rd quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 123,919 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 107,288 shares during the period. Kestrel Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,195,000. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 208.6% during the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 115,172 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,181,000 after purchasing an additional 77,847 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth approximately $2,028,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 6.0 %

Shares of SMP stock opened at $35.03 on Tuesday. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.61 and a 12-month high of $48.24. The company has a market capitalization of $756.30 million, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $308.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.49 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 12.87% and a net margin of 4.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Thomas Tesoro sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.62, for a total transaction of $38,620.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,398.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Standard Motor Products news, insider Thomas Tesoro sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.62, for a total transaction of $38,620.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,398.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dale Burks sold 3,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total value of $135,552.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,609.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Standard Motor Products

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Standard Motor Products, Inc engages in the manufacture, distribution, and market of replacement parts for motor vehicles in the automotive aftermarket industry. It operates through the following segments: Engine Management, Temperature Control, and All Other. The Engine Management segment produces and remanufactures ignition and emission parts, ignition wires, battery cables, fuel system parts and sensors for vehicle systems.