Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,977 shares of the software company’s stock after selling 28,021 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Autodesk were worth $8,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Autodesk by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,728,596 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $3,875,134,000 after buying an additional 69,039 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,086,689 shares of the software company’s stock worth $3,700,717,000 after acquiring an additional 989,144 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,753,933 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,791,142,000 after acquiring an additional 130,377 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Autodesk by 1.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,993,264 shares of the software company’s stock worth $829,485,000 after purchasing an additional 66,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Autodesk by 1.2% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,018,078 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $624,471,000 after purchasing an additional 35,105 shares in the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autodesk Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADSK opened at $260.97 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $256.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.99, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.43. Autodesk, Inc. has a one year low of $188.38 and a one year high of $279.53.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The software company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.14. Autodesk had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 75.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Autodesk, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Autodesk

In other Autodesk news, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 1,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.54, for a total transaction of $409,507.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,620 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,974.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Stacy J. Smith sold 7,554 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.00, for a total transaction of $1,843,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,863,896. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 1,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.54, for a total value of $409,507.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,974.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,332 shares of company stock valued at $4,671,607 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ADSK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Autodesk from $232.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $220.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Autodesk from $228.50 to $255.00 in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Autodesk from $265.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autodesk presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.78.

Autodesk Profile

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.