MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,981 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $3,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AZPN. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,479,000 after purchasing an additional 661,820 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,318,000 after acquiring an additional 632,545 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $70,813,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $66,680,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,799,000 after purchasing an additional 171,351 shares in the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AZPN shares. Loop Capital raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Aspen Technology in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of AZPN opened at $264.33 on Friday. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.25 and a fifty-two week high of $277.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $264.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.91. The firm has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current 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.