Picton Mahoney Asset Management Makes New $900,000 Investment in Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,037 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned about 0.10% of Standard Motor Products at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products in the first quarter valued at $214,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 3.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 114,036 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 320.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,037 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after buying an additional 48,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4,842.1% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of SMP opened at $37.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $828.41 million, a PE ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 0.75. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.38 and a 12-month high of $46.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm had revenue of $385.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.91 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 71.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SMP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Standard Motor Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $345,624.93. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 40,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,548.09. This trade represents a 18.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Standard Motor Products

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.