The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys New Holdings in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 203,524 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,608,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SSD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $862,138,000. ValueAct Holdings L.P. increased its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. ValueAct Holdings L.P. now owns 1,472,142 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $237,707,000 after purchasing an additional 264,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 878,270 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $141,826,000 after purchasing an additional 31,744 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Simpson Manufacturing by 0.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 857,918 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $147,236,000 after buying an additional 4,168 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Simpson Manufacturing by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 765,322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $123,603,000 after buying an additional 6,869 shares during the period. 93.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SSD shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Simpson Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Simpson Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Simpson Manufacturing from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.25.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Performance

Simpson Manufacturing stock opened at $184.80 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 3.29. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a one year low of $156.32 and a one year high of $213.49.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The construction company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.37. Simpson Manufacturing had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm had revenue of $671.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $658.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Simpson Manufacturing’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

About Simpson Manufacturing

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.