Barclays PLC Has $16.35 Million Stock Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Barclays PLC cut its position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,497 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 13,921 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.10% of Aspen Technology worth $16,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,248,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,607 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,824 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at about $224,000. 45.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Shares of AZPN opened at $264.33 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,304.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.25 and a fifty-two week high of $277.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $264.42 and a 200 day moving average of $254.23.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. As a group, research analysts predict that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Aspen Technology in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Baird R W downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.00.

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.