Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,499 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 307 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Standard Motor Products were worth $259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 145.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 938 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $85,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,325 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 3,928.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock opened at $32.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $712.26 million, a PE ratio of 23.49 and a beta of 0.61. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.09 and a 52-week high of $41.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.87.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $331.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.84 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is 83.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.