StockNews.com Upgrades SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of SS&C Technologies from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded SS&C Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $94.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on SS&C Technologies from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upped their target price on SS&C Technologies from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on SS&C Technologies from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

SS&C Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SSNC stock opened at $87.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. SS&C Technologies has a 12-month low of $59.53 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The company has a market cap of $21.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.22.

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.09. SS&C Technologies had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 12.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that SS&C Technologies will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

SS&C Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. SS&C Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at SS&C Technologies

In other news, CEO William C. Stone sold 247,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $18,945,653.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,837,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,439,103,510.86. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Douglas White sold 69,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $5,317,830.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,412 shares in the company, valued at $494,172.84. The trade was a 91.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 449,000 shares of company stock valued at $34,461,478. 15.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SS&C Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in SS&C Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of SS&C Technologies by 76.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in shares of SS&C Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SS&C Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in SS&C Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. 96.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SS&C Technologies

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc engages in the development and provision of software solutions to the financial services and healthcare industries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Japan, Canada, and the Americas, excluding the United States and Canada.