First Light Asset Management LLC Sells 482 Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP)

First Light Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,259 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Simulations Plus worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,426 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 3,072 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new position in Simulations Plus in the fourth quarter worth about $337,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 1.4% during the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 45.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Ophir Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Simulations Plus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

Simulations Plus Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:SLP opened at $31.15 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.51. Simulations Plus, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.61 and a 52 week high of $51.22. The stock has a market cap of $623.25 million, a PE ratio of 64.90 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Simulations Plus

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,501,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,186,006.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total transaction of $36,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $345,683.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $703,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,501,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,186,006.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,750 shares of company stock worth $2,467,390. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Simulations Plus Profile

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.