Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Shares Sold by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 97,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,182 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Standard Motor Products were worth $3,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,295,997 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $43,027,000 after purchasing an additional 73,476 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 783,593 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $26,015,000 after acquiring an additional 19,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 5.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 0.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 192,227 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,339,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 6.7% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 165,205 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,485,000 after acquiring an additional 10,360 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.11, for a total value of $161,340.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,582,192.35. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock opened at $31.11 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.21 and a 200-day moving average of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $675.75 million, a PE ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.52. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.09 and a 1-year high of $40.68.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.54%.

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.