Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Boosts Stake in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,292 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $6,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,318,000 after purchasing an additional 632,545 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 582,682 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,156,000 after acquiring an additional 28,820 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,799,000 after buying an additional 171,351 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $66,680,000. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 116.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,635,000 after acquiring an additional 105,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZPN opened at $264.96 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $259.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.53. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.25 and a fifty-two week high of $277.37. The company has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 3,312.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZPN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Baird R W cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

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.