Starboard Value LP Buys Shares of 1,852,000 Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,852,000 shares of the software company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,189,000. Autodesk comprises 10.8% of Starboard Value LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Starboard Value LP owned approximately 0.86% of Autodesk as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Autodesk by 28.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,071,950 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,255,054,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,973 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 100.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,642,973 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $406,554,000 after purchasing an additional 825,165 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Autodesk by 366.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,040 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 662,339 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Autodesk by 58,375.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,797 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,564,170,000 after purchasing an additional 566,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Autodesk by 394.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 567,360 shares of the software company’s stock worth $156,296,000 after purchasing an additional 452,728 shares in the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autodesk Price Performance

Shares of Autodesk stock opened at $291.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $62.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.15. Autodesk, Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.32 and a twelve month high of $326.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The software company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.05. Autodesk had a return on equity of 53.87% and a net margin of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Autodesk, Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.84, for a total transaction of $78,604.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,944.36. This trade represents a 5.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.50, for a total transaction of $146,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,323,159.50. This trade represents a 1.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,936 shares of company stock worth $549,333 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Autodesk from $320.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. HSBC lowered Autodesk from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Autodesk from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Autodesk from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Autodesk in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Autodesk presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.10.

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.