Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Holdings 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 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,447 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,098,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 415,662 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $91,508,000 after purchasing an additional 8,856 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $1,739,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 23,826 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $668,000. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZPN opened at $198.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $199.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.40. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.32 and a 1-year high of $234.24. The stock 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 (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $257.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $259.70 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.38% and a negative net margin of 8.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.82 earnings per share 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.