SG Americas Securities LLC Has $9 Million Position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Standard Motor Products by 207.8% in the first quarter, lifting its holdings to 259,180 shares worth about $9.0 million.
• Standard Motor Products recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.82 versus the $0.73 estimate and revenue of $451.17 million topping forecasts.
• Analysts have turned more cautious on SMP, with the current consensus at Hold and an average price target of $49, while the stock recently traded around $40.32 and offers a 3.3% dividend yield.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) by 207.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 259,180 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 174,986 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 1.17% of Standard Motor Products worth $9,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Standard Motor Products by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,386,382 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $51,089,000 after purchasing an additional 4,927 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,101,199 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $40,579,000 after purchasing an additional 36,688 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 980,264 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $36,123,000 after purchasing an additional 39,710 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 826,471 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $30,455,000 after buying an additional 5,319 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 503,039 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $18,539,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Standard Motor Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Standard Motor Products from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Standard Motor Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of SMP stock opened at $40.32 on Friday. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $46.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.58 and a 200-day moving average of $38.74. The company has a market capitalization of $897.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77 and a beta of 0.81.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $451.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $429.07 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 12.98%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.71%.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In other news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 5,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $231,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 35,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,404,248.25. This represents a 14.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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