HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,227 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.89% of Standard Motor Products worth $6,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Azarias Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter worth about $11,197,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,295,997 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $43,027,000 after buying an additional 73,476 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 19.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,931 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,399,000 after acquiring an additional 55,327 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,029,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 47.1% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 99,345 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after buying an additional 31,826 shares during the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In other news, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,485 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $51,930.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,654.55. The trade was a 4.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Sills sold 1,721 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $60,183.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,142,515.47. This trade represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,454 shares of company stock worth $225,701 in the last quarter. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Standard Motor Products Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SMP opened at $33.95 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $32.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $737.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.52. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a one year low of $26.09 and a one year high of $41.71.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.19. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $399.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 71.61%.

Standard Motor Products Profile

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.