Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.17 Million Holdings in Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its position in Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD - Free Report) by 55.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,045 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,819 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Simpson Manufacturing were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,313 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,172,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 286.1% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 19,481 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 14,435 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at about $695,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 4,755.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 168,302 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,910,000 after purchasing an additional 164,836 shares during the last quarter. 93.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective 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. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Simpson Manufacturing Price Performance

Simpson Manufacturing stock traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $154.51. 163,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 271,811. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $154.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.42. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.35 and a 1-year high of $197.82.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $538.90 million for 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%. Simpson Manufacturing's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Simpson Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Simpson Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Andersen sold 1,000 shares of Simpson Manufacturing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.98, for a total value of $169,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,497,523.80. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Simpson Manufacturing Company 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.