Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Autodesk, Inc. $ADSK

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,248,808 shares of the software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,159 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Autodesk were worth $298,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Autodesk in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Autodesk during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Autodesk in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in Autodesk by 112.2% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 87 shares of the software company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in shares of Autodesk in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 90.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Autodesk from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Autodesk from $279.00 to $262.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Autodesk in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Autodesk to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Autodesk presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.40.

Autodesk Stock Performance

Shares of ADSK stock opened at $209.75 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.95. Autodesk, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.50 and a 52 week high of $329.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software company reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Autodesk had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 57.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. Autodesk has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.650 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.140 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Autodesk, Inc. will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John T. Cahill purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $189.20 per share, for a total transaction of $378,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,800. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Janesh Moorjani acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $197.67 per share, with a total value of $494,175.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 50,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,079,786.31. This trade represents a 5.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 7,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,666,644. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc (NASDAQ: ADSK) is a software company that develops design and creation tools for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), manufacturing, and media and entertainment industries. Headquartered in San Rafael, California, the company was founded in 1982 and is best known for pioneering CAD (computer-aided design) software. Autodesk sells products and services to a global customer base, including architects, engineers, contractors, product designers, and content creators.

The company’s product portfolio includes industry-standard design and modeling applications such as AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, Fusion 360, Maya and 3ds Max, as well as cloud-based collaboration and project management platforms like BIM 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud.