North Star Investment Management Corp. Invests $823,000 in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

North Star Investment Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 33,000 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $823,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. owned 0.15% of Standard Motor Products as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 68.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the first quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE SMP traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.08. 127,349 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,280. The stock has a market cap of $661.16 million, a P/E ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.92. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.38 and a 1-year high of $35.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Standard Motor Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio is 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.