Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stock Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,447 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 19,264 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,935,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 12,254 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,864 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,592 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

AZPN opened at $198.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $199.90 and a 200-day moving average of $196.40. The company has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -146.67, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.77. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.32 and a 1-year high of $234.24.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.06). Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.38% and a negative net margin of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $257.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $259.70 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.25.

Aspen Technology 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.