Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Increases Stock Holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 717,457 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,197 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 3.30% of Standard Motor Products worth $22,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter worth $753,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 485,299 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $16,115,000 after acquiring an additional 27,210 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 202,152 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $6,263,000 after acquiring an additional 36,947 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 783,593 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $26,015,000 after acquiring an additional 19,652 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,876,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company's stock.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

NYSE SMP traded down $0.70 on Monday, hitting $23.12. 23,107 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 162,734. The firm has a market capitalization of $505.45 million, a PE ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.57. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.38 and a 1-year high of $35.92. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $343.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. As a group, analysts expect that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Standard Motor Products's payout ratio is 100.81%.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,592. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Standard Motor Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

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.