Bailard Inc. Makes New Investment in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,800 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter worth $38,215,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 0.6% during the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 315,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,590,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 73.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 216,723 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $7,286,000 after purchasing an additional 91,730 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 14.7% in the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 296,400 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $9,965,000 after buying an additional 37,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Standard Motor Products stock opened at $32.46 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $732.95 million, a PE ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.61. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.09 and a twelve month high of $41.71.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.25). Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $290.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.84 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is presently 75.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SMP shares. TheStreet downgraded Standard Motor Products from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 29th.

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.