Alps Advisors Inc. Takes $460,000 Position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,280 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000. Alps Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Standard Motor Products at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 155,121 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 33,440 shares in the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth $6,024,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at about $237,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at about $1,142,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised 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 worth $12,752,000 after acquiring an additional 91,104 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock opened at $44.39 on Friday. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a one year low of $21.38 and a one year high of $46.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.80. 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 market capitalization of $976.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71 and a beta of 0.76.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 94.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research cut Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Standard Motor Products 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 transaction of $345,624.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 40,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,548.09. The trade was a 18.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products 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.