Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.13 Million Position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,364 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Standard Motor Products worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SMP. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,710,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,258 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $15,405,000 after acquiring an additional 86,640 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the fourth quarter worth about $2,524,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 331,078 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $10,257,000 after acquiring an additional 69,717 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,655,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $51,299,000 after acquiring an additional 69,000 shares during the period. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SMP traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.90. 185,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 169,315. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a one year low of $21.38 and a one year high of $35.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.25 million, a PE ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 0.62. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $25.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 2.25.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.37. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $413.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Standard Motor Products's revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Standard Motor Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $299,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,546,592. This trade represents a 16.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 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.