Legal & General Group Plc Trims Position in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 62,094 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 15,666 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Simpson Manufacturing were worth $10,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Simpson Manufacturing by 1.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 555,211 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,976,000 after buying an additional 7,552 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 5.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 541,149 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $90,621,000 after buying an additional 26,743 shares during the period. Port Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 1.0% in the third quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 406,210 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,024,000 after buying an additional 3,825 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Simpson Manufacturing by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 343,327 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,322,000 after purchasing an additional 21,781 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Simpson Manufacturing by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 305,665 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,187,000 after purchasing an additional 12,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Simpson Manufacturing from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens increased their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Simpson Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Simpson Manufacturing presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.75.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Down 0.8%

Simpson Manufacturing stock opened at $186.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.40 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 1.32. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.38 and a 1-year high of $211.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $181.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.58.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The construction company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $587.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.08 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 14.92%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.60%.

Simpson Manufacturing Profile

Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc, through its Simpson Strong-Tie® brand, is a leading global supplier of structural building products. The company specializes in the design, testing, manufacture and supply of connectors, anchors, fasteners and lateral systems that enhance the safety and performance of wood, concrete and masonry structures. Its product portfolio also includes repair and strengthening systems, concrete reinforcement and high-performance adhesives used in residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

Founded in 1956 by Barclay Simpson in Oakland, California, Simpson Manufacturing has grown from a single product business into a diversified manufacturer with worldwide operations.