Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 46,191 Shares of Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) by 198.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,409 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,191 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.16% of Simpson Manufacturing worth $14,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 517.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 555,161 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,911,000 after buying an additional 465,193 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Simpson Manufacturing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,069,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Simpson Manufacturing by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,487,095 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $920,662,000 after purchasing an additional 278,283 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Simpson Manufacturing by 250.5% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 325,452 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $64,433,000 after purchasing an additional 232,600 shares during the period. Finally, Maren Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Simpson Manufacturing during the fourth quarter worth $15,493,000. 93.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SSD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Simpson Manufacturing from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered Simpson Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer Lutz sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.14, for a total transaction of $128,355.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,033 shares in the company, valued at $861,347.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Simpson Manufacturing news, EVP Roger Dankel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $350,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,687,179.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Lutz sold 750 shares of Simpson Manufacturing stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.14, for a total transaction of $128,355.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,033 shares in the company, valued at $861,347.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Simpson Manufacturing Price Performance

Shares of Simpson Manufacturing stock traded up $7.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $192.45. 433,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 531,459. The company has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12 and a beta of 1.32. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.93 and a fifty-two week high of $218.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.97.

Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $596.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $604.67 million. Simpson Manufacturing had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simpson Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 4th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Simpson Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Simpson Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.04%.

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.