Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $38.55 and traded as high as $44.00. Standard Motor Products shares last traded at $43.3610, with a volume of 154,046 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SMP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $953.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.55.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $345,624.93. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 40,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,548.09. The trade was a 18.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 155,121 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 33,440 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at about $6,024,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the second quarter worth about $1,142,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the second quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Standard Motor Products by 28.1% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 415,104 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,752,000 after acquiring an additional 91,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc, headquartered in Long Island City, New York, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket and original equipment automotive parts. Since its founding in 1919, the company has focused on engineering, testing, and supplying ignition and temperature management products for passenger cars and light trucks. Its product lineup includes ignition coils, spark plug wires, sensors, switches, heating and air conditioning controls, and related electronic components.

The company operates through two primary segments: Engine Management and Temperature Control.