Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 35,753 Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,231 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,753 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Simulations Plus were worth $4,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLP. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 390.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 22,669 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $719,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 448,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,367,000 after acquiring an additional 18,924 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,503,000 after purchasing an additional 28,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 47,365 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 24,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLP opened at $34.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.84 and its 200 day moving average is $30.04. The company has a market cap of $686.99 million, a PE ratio of 85.40 and a beta of 1.13. Simulations Plus, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.01 and a 1 year high of $51.22.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.06. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 10.97%. The company had revenue of $22.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.91, for a total transaction of $678,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,402,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,381,623.44. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp raised their price target on Simulations Plus from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.40.

Simulations Plus Company Profile

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.