Northern Trust Corp Increases Stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 334,037 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 12,379 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.54% of Standard Motor Products worth $10,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,592. This represents a 16.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 108,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,165. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.36. The company has a market capitalization of $633.87 million, a PE ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.62. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.38 and a 52 week high of $35.92.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $413.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.38 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Standard Motor Products's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. This is a positive change from Standard Motor Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.57%.

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.