Inspire Investing LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 67.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,817 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 30,188 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Standard Motor Products were worth $515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 7,560.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,149 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 235.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $99,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

NYSE:SMP opened at $38.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $46.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.08 million, a PE ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.81.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $451.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.07 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 2.51%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SMP. Zacks Research downgraded Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Standard Motor Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Standard Motor Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In other news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 5,822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $231,424.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 35,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,404,248.25. This trade represents a 14.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Standard Motor Products Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc, headquartered in Long Island City, New York, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket and original equipment automotive parts. Since its founding in 1919, the company has focused on engineering, testing, and supplying ignition and temperature management products for passenger cars and light trucks. Its product lineup includes ignition coils, spark plug wires, sensors, switches, heating and air conditioning controls, and related electronic components.

The company operates through two primary segments: Engine Management and Temperature Control.