Berkeley Inc Acquires Shares of 24,819 Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD)

Berkeley Inc acquired a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 24,819 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,116,000. Simpson Manufacturing accounts for about 2.1% of Berkeley Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at $73,758,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at $54,644,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Simpson Manufacturing by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 581,406 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $96,405,000 after purchasing an additional 275,989 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 5,137.3% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 270,349 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,832,000 after purchasing an additional 265,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 300.2% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 336,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,727,000 after purchasing an additional 252,085 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SSD. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Simpson Manufacturing from $196.00 to $192.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Performance

Shares of SSD opened at $154.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.35 and a 52-week high of $197.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 1.34.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $538.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.81 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This is an increase from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Simpson Manufacturing’s payout ratio is 15.10%.

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.