AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 441,571 Shares of Autodesk, Inc. $ADSK

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Autodesk, boosting its holdings by 336.7% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 572,701 shares valued at approximately $147.3 million.
• Insider transactions included Autodesk Director Ayanna Howard selling 3,159 shares and EVP Rebecca Pearce selling 6,129 shares, reflecting decreases in their respective positions of 41.83% and 31.53%.
• Investment analysts have raised their price targets for Autodesk, with several firms setting targets between $355.00 and $393.00, indicating a generally optimistic outlook for the stock.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK - Free Report) by 336.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 572,701 shares of the software company's stock after buying an additional 441,571 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.27% of Autodesk worth $147,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Autodesk by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the software company's stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Autodesk by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 143 shares of the software company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Autodesk by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the software company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in Autodesk by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the software company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Sky Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Autodesk by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the software company's stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.24% of the company's stock.

Autodesk Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ ADSK traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $323.89. 395,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Autodesk, Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.67 and a 52 week high of $329.09. The company has a market cap of $68.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.03, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $299.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.62.

Insider Activity at Autodesk

In other Autodesk news, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 6,129 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.06, for a total value of $1,980,034.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,300,251.66. The trade was a 31.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ruth Ann Keene sold 2,761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $869,991.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 80,255 shares in the company, valued at $25,288,350.50. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,440 shares of company stock worth $6,786,586 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADSK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Autodesk from $361.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Autodesk from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Autodesk from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Autodesk from $345.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Autodesk from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $356.83.

About Autodesk

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.