Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC) by 71.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,108 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in SS&C Technologies were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SS&C Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in SS&C Technologies by 76.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in SS&C Technologies by 239.3% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 553 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in SS&C Technologies by 163.6% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new position in SS&C Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 96.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised SS&C Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of SS&C Technologies in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on SS&C Technologies from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James cut their price target on SS&C Technologies from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on SS&C Technologies from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SS&C Technologies has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.86.

SS&C Technologies Stock Performance

SS&C Technologies stock opened at $81.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.68. SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.18 and a 52 week high of $89.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The technology company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. SS&C Technologies had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

SS&C Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. SS&C Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 31.06%.

Insider Activity at SS&C Technologies

In other SS&C Technologies news, Director Michael Jay Zamkow sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.92, for a total transaction of $999,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,476 shares in the company, valued at $997,081.92. This represents a 50.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan E. Michael purchased 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.53 per share, with a total value of $203,931.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 72,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,496,771.28. The trade was a 3.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

About SS&C Technologies

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc engages in the development and provision of software solutions to the financial services and healthcare industries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Japan, Canada, and the Americas, excluding the United States and Canada.