Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Raises Holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 996,928 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,664 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Standard Motor Products were worth $34,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SMP. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 76.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 7,560.0% during the fourth 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 period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 235.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products in the third quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the third quarter worth about $108,000. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SMP opened at $38.63 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $860.02 million, a P/E ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.81. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $46.00.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.09. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $451.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.07 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is presently 64.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Standard Motor Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 5,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 35,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,404,248.25. This represents a 14.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

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.