Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 16,649 Shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,105 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,649 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.49% of Aspen Technology worth $68,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,612 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 152.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 497 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $477,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,060 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,857 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.66% of the company's stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Aspen Technology stock traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $220.96. The stock had a trading volume of 79,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,026. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of -502.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.32 and a fifty-two week high of $224.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $206.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.74.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $278.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $251.65 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.76% and a negative net margin of 2.46%. On average, research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AZPN shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $255.00 in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Aspen Technology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. William Blair raised Aspen Technology to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aspen Technology presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.50.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

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.