Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTR) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTR) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 330,957 shares of the software’s stock after selling 97,326 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.39% of Altair Engineering worth $36,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altair Engineering by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 168,665 shares of the software’s stock valued at $18,403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Altair Engineering by 77.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 285 shares of the software’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in Altair Engineering in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,516,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Altair Engineering by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,663 shares of the software’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Altair Engineering by 185.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 825 shares of the software’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.38% of the company’s stock.

Altair Engineering Stock Performance

ALTR stock opened at $111.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 657.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.22 and a 200-day moving average of $106.36. Altair Engineering Inc. has a one year low of $75.71 and a one year high of $113.12.

Altair Engineering (NASDAQ:ALTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The software reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.15). Altair Engineering had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $192.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.98 million. Equities analysts forecast that Altair Engineering Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Altair Engineering

In related news, CRO Nelson Dias sold 1,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.30, for a total value of $185,982.30. Following the sale, the executive now owns 55,411 shares in the company, valued at $6,167,244.30. This represents a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Charles Brown sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $425,040.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,739,512.82. The trade was a 5.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,172 shares of company stock valued at $1,356,847 in the last ninety days. 21.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALTR has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Altair Engineering in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $113.00 target price on shares of Altair Engineering in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.83.

About Altair Engineering

Altair Engineering Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides software and cloud solutions in the areas of simulation and design, high-performance computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Software and Client Engineering Services.