Commerce Bank Invests $787,000 in Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,204 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000. Commerce Bank owned about 0.09% of Standard Motor Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the second quarter worth about $158,258,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,386,382 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $51,089,000 after purchasing an additional 4,927 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,101,199 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,579,000 after purchasing an additional 36,688 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 1.7% in 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 period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 826,471 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $30,455,000 after buying an additional 5,319 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total value of $350,364.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,728.05. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ray Nicholas sold 5,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total value of $231,424.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,404,248.25. The trade was a 14.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,121 shares of company stock worth $1,018,217. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of SMP opened at $36.95 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.67. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.27 and a 12-month high of $46.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $825.46 million, a P/E ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.82.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The auto parts company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $526.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $511.68 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 13.28%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SMP shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

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.