Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,966 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZPN. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Aspen Technology by 965.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Aspen Technology by 5,700.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Aspen Technology by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Aspen Technology by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZPN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W lowered Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aspen Technology in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZPN opened at $264.33 on Tuesday. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.25 and a twelve month high of $277.37. The company has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $261.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.36.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

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.