Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $66.68 Million in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 267,115 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,680,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.42% of Aspen Technology at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZPN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Aspen Technology by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Aspen Technology by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 698 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Aspen Technology by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 542 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Aspen Technology by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,187 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Aspen Technology by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZPN. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down previously 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. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Down 0.4 %

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.30 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.76. The company has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,304.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.25 and a 52-week high of $277.37.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. Research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.