Howland Capital Management LLC Has $2.98 Million Stock Holdings in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,937 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,351 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $2,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 89.2% in 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 during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 166,352 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,728,000 after acquiring an additional 39,396 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,082,000 after acquiring an additional 10,327 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,550,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,318,000 after purchasing an additional 632,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZPN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital lowered shares of Aspen Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Baird R W downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $262.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ AZPN opened at $274.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 3,435.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $277.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.64.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.68 EPS for the current 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.