Cooke & Bieler LP Sells 68,335 Shares of Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. $SSD

Key Points

• Cooke & Bieler LP cut its Simpson Manufacturing position by 50.3%, selling 68,335 shares and retaining 67,499 shares valued at approximately $14.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.68% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $216.25.
• Simpson Manufacturing beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.09 EPS and $671.08 million in revenue, while revenue rose 6.3% year over year. The company also declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend, yielding about 0.6% annually.

Cooke & Bieler LP reduced its position in Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SSD - Free Report) by 50.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,499 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 68,335 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 0.16% of Simpson Manufacturing worth $14,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in Simpson Manufacturing in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,133,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing in the 1st quarter valued at $4,424,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 123,375 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $19,921,000 after purchasing an additional 21,889 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 327,606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,899,000 after buying an additional 131,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Simpson Manufacturing by 31.5% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 79,773 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $13,691,000 after buying an additional 19,097 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Simpson Manufacturing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Simpson Manufacturing from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Simpson Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Simpson Manufacturing from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $216.25.

Simpson Manufacturing Price Performance

Simpson Manufacturing stock opened at $195.22 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $194.42 and its 200 day moving average is $188.08. Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. has a one year low of $156.32 and a one year high of $213.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The construction company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $671.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.76 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

Simpson Manufacturing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Simpson Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

About Simpson Manufacturing

Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc, through its Simpson Strong-Tie® brand, is a leading global supplier of structural building products. The company specializes in the design, testing, manufacture and supply of connectors, anchors, fasteners and lateral systems that enhance the safety and performance of wood, concrete and masonry structures. Its product portfolio also includes repair and strengthening systems, concrete reinforcement and high-performance adhesives used in residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

Founded in 1956 by Barclay Simpson in Oakland, California, Simpson Manufacturing has grown from a single product business into a diversified manufacturer with worldwide operations.

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