Independent Franchise Partners LLP Reduces Stock Holdings in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP lowered its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 520,184 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,374 shares during the quarter. Aspen Technology makes up approximately 1.0% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 0.82% of Aspen Technology worth $129,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 51.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,369 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the 3rd quarter worth $377,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,838 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Aspen Technology by 23.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 79,418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,966,000 after purchasing an additional 15,176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of AZPN opened at $264.33 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $171.25 and a 1 year high of $277.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.11.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AZPN. StockNews.com started coverage on Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.