Fiera Capital Corp Cuts Stock Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Fiera Capital Corp lowered its stake in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN - Free Report) by 30.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,406 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 103,760 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.37% of Aspen Technology worth $56,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,090,314 shares of the technology company's stock worth $812,459,000 after purchasing an additional 65,143 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $110,014,000 after purchasing an additional 153,897 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 26.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company's stock worth $104,199,000 after buying an additional 109,783 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 52.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 293,778 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,657,000 after buying an additional 101,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 281,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,338,000 after acquiring an additional 15,744 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aspen Technology news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total transaction of $219,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,871,114. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AZPN traded down $0.97 on Friday, reaching $245.00. 883,949 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,227. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $234.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.01. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.26 and a 12 month high of $249.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -422.41, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). The business had revenue of $215.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 3.26% and a positive return on equity of 2.81%. The company's revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Aspen Technology

Aspen Technology, Inc provides industrial software that focuses on helping customers in asset-intensive industries worldwide. The company's solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. Its software is used in performance engineering, modeling and design, supply chain management, predictive and prescriptive maintenance, digital grid management, and industrial data management.