Amundi Raises Stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Amundi lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 187.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,438 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 6,807 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Standard Motor Products were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 64.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,421 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,467 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth approximately $382,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of SMP stock opened at $25.71 on Friday. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a one year low of $25.66 and a one year high of $35.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $562.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.50.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.10. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $343.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.50 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Standard Motor Products news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,592. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Standard Motor Products Company 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.