Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Simpson Manufacturing Company by 46.4% in the 1st quarter, owning a total of 28,823 shares valued at approximately $4.53 million.
• DA Davidson raised the target price for Simpson Manufacturing from $180.00 to $185.00 and assigned a "neutral" rating, while the current consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $188.50.
• Simpson Manufacturing declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, set to be paid on October 23rd to shareholders of record on October 2nd.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD - Free Report) by 46.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,823 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 9,136 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Simpson Manufacturing worth $4,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SSD. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 321,546 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,508,000 after acquiring an additional 35,659 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 20.2% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 403,994 shares of the construction company's stock worth $63,459,000 after purchasing an additional 67,943 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in Simpson Manufacturing by 3.1% in the first quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 66,650 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 0.9% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,534,724 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $712,314,000 after purchasing an additional 40,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 15.2% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,062 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. 93.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simpson Manufacturing

In other Simpson Manufacturing news, EVP Jeremy Gilstrap sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.27, for a total transaction of $445,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,389,436.38. This represents a 24.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Andersen sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.13, for a total transaction of $196,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,810 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,775.30. The trade was a 11.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Simpson Manufacturing Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SSD traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $191.30. The company had a trading volume of 161,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,584. The stock has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40 and a beta of 1.30. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a one year low of $137.35 and a one year high of $197.82. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $179.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The construction company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. Simpson Manufacturing had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 14.53%.The business had revenue of $631.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Simpson Manufacturing's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Simpson Manufacturing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Simpson Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.50.

Simpson Manufacturing Profile

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.