Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Invests $2.98 Million in American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 266,295 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in American Software in the third quarter worth approximately $890,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of American Software by 907.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,831 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,252 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in American Software in the third quarter worth about $133,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of American Software by 172.4% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 59,157 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 37,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Software by 158.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,344 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares during the last quarter. 76.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Software Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMSWA traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.95. 121,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 220,269. American Software, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.41 and a 52-week high of $12.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.35.

American Software (NASDAQ:AMSWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.01. American Software had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 10.39%. The firm had revenue of $26.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Software, Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

American Software Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. American Software’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 129.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMSWA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of American Software from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com cut American Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

About American Software

American Software, Inc develops, markets, and supports a range of computer business application software products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Other. The SCM segment leverages a single platform spanning eight supply chain process areas including product, demand, inventory, supply, network optimization, order response, supplier management, and scenario planning.