Autodesk, Inc. $ADSK Shares Sold by Legato Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management slashed its Autodesk stake by 90.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,469 shares and leaving it with 1,306 shares valued at about $387,000.
• Despite some mixed near-term caution, recent news flow is broadly positive: Jefferies upgraded Autodesk to “strong-buy” and analysts expect the company to beat first-quarter earnings and likely reaffirm full-year guidance.
• Autodesk recently delivered solid results, posting $2.85 EPS versus estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $1.96 billion, while shares were trading below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Legato Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK - Free Report) by 90.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,306 shares of the software company's stock after selling 12,469 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Autodesk were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Autodesk by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the software company's stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Autodesk by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,915 shares of the software company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Autodesk by 1,465.7% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,678 shares of the software company's stock worth $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 9,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Autodesk by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,440 shares of the software company's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.24% of the company's stock.

Autodesk News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Autodesk this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies upgraded Autodesk to “strong-buy”, citing expectations for a modest revenue beat driven by continued execution in core design and construction software. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Autodesk to post a first-quarter earnings beat and likely reaffirm full-year guidance, which would reinforce confidence in management’s outlook. Autodesk expected to deliver first quarter earnings beat, in-line outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Autodesk’s AI and cloud momentum remains a key bullish driver, and a Zacks comparison article argued Autodesk has the edge over Adobe on growth estimates and year-to-date performance. Adobe vs. Autodesk: Which Creative Software Stock is the Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Autodesk is expected to report a modest revenue beat, but management may present an in-line outlook rather than a major raise, which could limit upside if expectations are already high. Autodesk expected to deliver first quarter earnings beat, in-line outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: A new research update with Dodge Construction Network suggests North America is still behind in DfMA adoption, but the market is poised for growth, which supports Autodesk’s long-term opportunity without changing near-term fundamentals. North America Lags in Productization and DfMA Adoption, but Momentum Is Building
• Negative Sentiment: Heading into earnings, investors remain cautious that Autodesk’s sales-optimization changes could weigh on subscription billings, creating some uncertainty around near-term revenue quality. Autodesk to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards for the Stock?

Autodesk Stock Performance

Shares of Autodesk stock opened at $237.00 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $239.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.23, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.32. Autodesk, Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.10 and a 12 month high of $329.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The software company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. Autodesk had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 53.51%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Autodesk, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ADSK. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $355.00 to $312.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Argus raised shares of Autodesk to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Autodesk from $375.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Autodesk to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Autodesk has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $330.96.

Autodesk Company Profile

Autodesk, Inc NASDAQ: ADSK is a software company that develops design and creation tools for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), manufacturing, and media and entertainment industries. Headquartered in San Rafael, California, the company was founded in 1982 and is best known for pioneering CAD (computer-aided design) software. Autodesk sells products and services to a global customer base, including architects, engineers, contractors, product designers, and content creators.

The company's product portfolio includes industry-standard design and modeling applications such as AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, Fusion 360, Maya and 3ds Max, as well as cloud-based collaboration and project management platforms like BIM 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud.

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