Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,122 shares of the software company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Autodesk were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADSK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Autodesk during the 4th quarter valued at $426,374,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Autodesk by 480.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,785,264 shares of the software company’s stock worth $371,621,000 after buying an additional 1,477,770 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in shares of Autodesk in the third quarter worth about $170,972,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Autodesk by 4,112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 446,047 shares of the software company’s stock worth $92,292,000 after acquiring an additional 435,457 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Autodesk by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,322,121 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $321,910,000 after purchasing an additional 429,071 shares in the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADSK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Autodesk from $276.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Autodesk from $265.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Autodesk in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Autodesk from $232.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Autodesk currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Autodesk news, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 1,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.54, for a total transaction of $409,507.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,974.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Autodesk news, Director Stacy J. Smith sold 7,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.00, for a total value of $1,843,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,934 shares in the company, valued at $4,863,896. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 1,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.54, for a total value of $409,507.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,974.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,220 shares of company stock worth $11,933,231 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Autodesk Stock Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ:ADSK opened at $229.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.43. Autodesk, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.38 and a twelve month high of $279.53.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The software company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Autodesk had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 75.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Autodesk, Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Autodesk Profile

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.