Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stake in SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,721,872 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 75,157 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.10% of SS&C Technologies worth $206,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Old West Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in SS&C Technologies by 19.1% in the third quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 111,784 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,295,000 after purchasing an additional 17,893 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of SS&C Technologies by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 111,497 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,242,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in SS&C Technologies by 2.7% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 23,397 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in SS&C Technologies by 79.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 126,667 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,400,000 after acquiring an additional 56,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in SS&C Technologies in the third quarter worth $253,000. 96.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SS&C Technologies Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SSNC opened at $83.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 1.36. SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.63 and a 52 week high of $89.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

SS&C Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. SS&C Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at SS&C Technologies

In other SS&C Technologies news, SVP Jason Douglas White sold 71,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.96, for a total transaction of $6,316,160.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,411.52. This trade represents a 91.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Jay Zamkow sold 23,000 shares of SS&C Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.39, for a total transaction of $2,032,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,050,648. This trade represents a 49.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SSNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on SS&C Technologies from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on SS&C Technologies from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of SS&C Technologies from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SS&C Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of SS&C Technologies from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $97.50.

SS&C Technologies Company Profile

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.