Rhumbline Advisers Sells 2,753 Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 67,743 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,753 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Simulations Plus were worth $3,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Simulations Plus by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,426 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha bought a new stake in Simulations Plus in the fourth quarter worth about $337,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 931,132 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,668,000 after purchasing an additional 12,505 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 279,558 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,510,000 after purchasing an additional 87,516 shares during the period. Finally, Ophir Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Simulations Plus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,156,000. Institutional investors own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLP opened at $31.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $638.06 million, a PE ratio of 66.44 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.36 and a 200 day moving average of $42.83. Simulations Plus, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.75 and a 1-year high of $51.22.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $18.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.92 million. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 7.80%. Simulations Plus’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of Simulations Plus stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $36,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,683.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total transaction of $36,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $345,683.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total value of $792,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,521,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,560,690.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,467,390. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on SLP shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Monday, July 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.