Heartland Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,356 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Simpson Manufacturing were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Simpson Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at $73,758,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing during the fourth quarter worth about $58,414,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Simpson Manufacturing by 24.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,710,358 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $327,140,000 after purchasing an additional 333,390 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,644,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 1,020.1% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 139,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,745,000 after purchasing an additional 127,345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Andersen sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.98, for a total transaction of $169,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,497,523.80. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Simpson Manufacturing Stock Down 0.9 %

SSD stock opened at $157.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.17. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.74 and a 12 month high of $205.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 1.39.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Simpson Manufacturing had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 14.44%. Equities analysts expect that Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.