Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,164 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,109 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Simpson Manufacturing were worth $2,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,216 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 36.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 415 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,517,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 19.7% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 93.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SSD. StockNews.com downgraded Simpson Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jennifer Chatman sold 934 shares of Simpson Manufacturing stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.48, for a total value of $179,776.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,522.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roger Dankel sold 850 shares of Simpson Manufacturing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.08, for a total transaction of $168,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,573.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jennifer Chatman sold 934 shares of Simpson Manufacturing stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.48, for a total value of $179,776.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,522.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,784 shares of company stock worth $770,924. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Performance

NYSE:SSD opened at $180.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.67. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.08 and a 1 year high of $218.38. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57 and a beta of 1.33.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $530.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $549.87 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 20.51%. Simpson Manufacturing’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 4th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. This is a boost from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Simpson Manufacturing’s payout ratio is 13.53%.

About Simpson Manufacturing

Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells structural solutions for wood, concrete, and steel connections. The company offers wood construction products, including connectors, truss plates, fastening systems, fasteners and shearwalls, and pre-fabricated lateral systems for use in light-frame construction; and concrete construction products comprising adhesives, specialty chemicals, mechanical anchors, carbide drill bits, powder actuated tools, fiber-reinforced materials, and other repair products for use in concrete, masonry, and steel construction, as well as grouts, coatings, sealers, mortars, fiberglass and fiber-reinforced polymer systems, and asphalt products for use in concrete construction repair, and strengthening and protection products.