Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Stock Position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) by 31.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,838 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 47,868 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.47% of Standard Motor Products worth $2,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the fourth quarter worth $2,710,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,258 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $15,405,000 after buying an additional 86,640 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at $2,524,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 69,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 69,000 shares during the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:SMP traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.83. 118,307 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,475. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $30.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $721.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 0.65. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.38 and a fifty-two week high of $35.92.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 2.02% and a return on equity of 12.12%. Standard Motor Products's revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.57%.

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.