Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $996,000 in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 39,938 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $996,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.18% of Standard Motor Products as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 68.0% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,200 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the first quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the fourth quarter worth about $239,000. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company's stock.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

Standard Motor Products stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.33. 313,762 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 168,855. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $666.54 million, a P/E ratio of 21.66 and a beta of 0.65. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.38 and a 12 month high of $35.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $28.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.90.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $413.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $394.38 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. This is a boost from Standard Motor Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Standard Motor Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

About Standard Motor Products

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.