Azarias Capital Management L.P. Cuts Holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Azarias Capital Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) by 26.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 266,053 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 96,589 shares during the quarter. Standard Motor Products accounts for about 3.7% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 1.22% of Standard Motor Products worth $6,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,710,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,258 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $15,405,000 after acquiring an additional 86,640 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,524,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 331,078 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $10,257,000 after buying an additional 69,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,655,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $51,299,000 after buying an additional 69,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMP opened at $30.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average price is $27.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.92. The company has a market cap of $674.24 million, a PE ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 0.65. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.38 and a twelve month high of $35.92.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $413.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from Standard Motor Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Standard Motor Products's payout ratio is currently 88.57%.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

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.

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