Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 87,482 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $2,710,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.40% of Standard Motor Products as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SMP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $753,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 485,299 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $16,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,210 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 202,152 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $6,263,000 after purchasing an additional 36,947 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the third quarter valued at about $3,876,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the fourth quarter worth about $480,000. 81.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $299,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,592. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of SMP opened at $23.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $543.99 million, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.57. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.38 and a 1 year high of $35.92. The company's fifty day moving average is $25.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.64.

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

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.81%.

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.

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