SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) and Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
83.2% of SS&C Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.6% of Activision Blizzard shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.5% of SS&C Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Activision Blizzard shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares SS&C Technologies and Activision Blizzard’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| SS&C Technologies | $3.42 billion | 4.62 | $103.20 million | $2.62 | 23.90 |
| Activision Blizzard | $7.50 billion | 6.07 | $1.81 billion | $2.39 | 24.79 |
Activision Blizzard has higher revenue and earnings than SS&C Technologies. SS&C Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Activision Blizzard, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
SS&C Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Activision Blizzard pays an annual dividend of $0.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. SS&C Technologies pays out 19.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Activision Blizzard pays out 15.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SS&C Technologies has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Activision Blizzard has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for SS&C Technologies and Activision Blizzard, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| SS&C Technologies | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2.83 |
| Activision Blizzard | 1 | 5 | 20 | 1 | 2.78 |
SS&C Technologies presently has a consensus price target of $68.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.41%. Activision Blizzard has a consensus price target of $60.75, suggesting a potential upside of 2.55%. Given SS&C Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe SS&C Technologies is more favorable than Activision Blizzard.
Profitability
This table compares SS&C Technologies and Activision Blizzard’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| SS&C Technologies | 7.83% | 19.25% | 5.67% |
| Activision Blizzard | 23.66% | 13.91% | 9.23% |
Volatility & Risk
SS&C Technologies has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Activision Blizzard has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Activision Blizzard beats SS&C Technologies on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
SS&C Technologies Company Profile
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. provides software products and software-enabled services to financial services and healthcare industries in the United States, Canada, rest of the Americas, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company’s products and services allow its clients to automate and integrate front-office functions, such as trading and modeling; middle-office functions, including portfolio management and reporting; and back-office functions comprising accounting, transfer agency, compliance, regulatory services, performance measurement, reconciliation, reporting, processing, and clearing. It provides solutions to clients in institutional asset and wealth management, alternative investment management, brokerage, retirement, financial advisory, and financial institutions vertical markets, commercial lenders, real estate investment trusts, corporate treasury groups, insurance companies, pension funds, municipal finance groups, and real estate property managers. The company also offers health care solutions, such as claims adjudication, benefit management, care management, and business intelligence services to health care industry that include pharmacy, healthcare administration, and health optimization solutions, as well as provides professional and products support services. SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut.
Activision Blizzard Company Profile
Activision Blizzard, Inc. develops and distributes content and services on video game consoles, personal computers (PC), and mobile devices. The company operates through three segments: Activision Publishing, Inc.; Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.; and King Digital Entertainment. It develops, publishes, and sells interactive software products and entertainment content for the console and PC platforms through retail and digital channels, including subscription, full-game, and in-game sales, as well as by licensing software to third-party or related-party companies; and offers downloadable content. The company also maintains a proprietary online gaming service, Battle.net that facilitates the creation of user generated content, digital distribution, and online social connectivity in its games; and develops and publishes interactive entertainment content and services primarily on mobile platforms, such as Android and iOS, as well as distributes its content and services on the PC platform primarily through Facebook. In addition, it engages in creating original film and television content; and provides warehousing, logistics, and sales distribution services to third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software, as well as manufacturers of interactive entertainment hardware products. The company’s products include various genres, including first-person shooter, action/adventure, role-playing, strategy, and others. It serves retailers and distributors, including mass-market retailers, first party digital storefronts, consumer electronics stores, discount warehouses, and game specialty stores through third-party distribution and licensing arrangements in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.
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