SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC) Short Interest Update

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,310,000 shares, an increase of 29.1% from the October 15th total of 1,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

SS&C Technologies Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ SSNC traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,564,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,081,484. The company has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31 and a beta of 1.39. 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 has a 52 week low of $54.44 and a 52 week high of $77.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.90.

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The technology company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.03. SS&C Technologies had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that SS&C Technologies will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SS&C Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from SS&C Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. SS&C Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 35.84%.

SS&C Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Normand A. Boulanger sold 130,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $9,799,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 333,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,144,958.88. This represents a 28.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Jay Zamkow sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $1,443,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,715,098.72. This represents a 45.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 561,190 shares of company stock valued at $41,386,285. 15.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of SS&C Technologies by 2,178.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 104,797 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,568,000 after purchasing an additional 100,197 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in SS&C Technologies by 5.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 530,166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,344,000 after buying an additional 27,336 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in SS&C Technologies by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 253,867 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,341,000 after acquiring an additional 11,497 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of SS&C Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,661,000. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC bought a new stake in SS&C Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $1,612,000. Institutional investors own 96.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered SS&C Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of SS&C Technologies from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James upped their target price on SS&C Technologies from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of SS&C Technologies in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of SS&C Technologies in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.75.

SS&C Technologies Company Profile

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides software products and software-enabled services to financial services and healthcare industries. The company owns and operates technology stack across securities accounting; front-office functions, such as trading and modeling; middle-office functions comprising portfolio management and reporting; back-office functions, such as accounting, performance measurement, reconciliation, reporting, processing and clearing, and compliance and tax reporting; and healthcare solutions consisting of claims adjudication, benefit management, care management, and business intelligence solutions.