Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Shares Sold by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Independent Franchise Partners LLP lowered its position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 499,163 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,345 shares during the quarter. Aspen Technology accounts for approximately 0.9% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 0.79% of Aspen Technology worth $99,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZPN. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 38.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,014,000 after buying an additional 153,897 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,630,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 26.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $104,199,000 after purchasing an additional 109,783 shares during the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the first quarter worth $22,110,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 293,778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,657,000 after buying an additional 101,586 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Aspen Technology from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aspen Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aspen Technology

In other news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total transaction of $219,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,871,114. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

AZPN opened at $235.56 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $210.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.26. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.26 and a 1-year high of $240.82. The company has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -535.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.75.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.49. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The company had revenue of $342.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $319.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aspen Technology 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.