Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE SMP traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.00. 221,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,079. Standard Motor Products has a 12 month low of $26.09 and a 12 month high of $35.92. The company has a market capitalization of $608.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.79.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.10. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. The firm had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products 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 sale, the vice president now owns 46,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,582,192.35. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMP. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Standard Motor Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,660 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,900 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 36,364 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 35,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 192,284 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,341 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.