Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 12,766 Shares of Autodesk, Inc. $ADSK

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Autodesk by 4.2% in Q4, adding 12,766 shares to hold 316,225 shares worth about $93.61 million (roughly 0.15% of the company).
• Autodesk beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.85 versus $2.64 and revenue of $1.96 billion versus $1.91 billion (revenue +19.4% y/y), and set FY2027 EPS guidance of 12.290–12.560 and Q1 guidance of 2.820–2.860.
• About 90.24% of shares are held by institutions; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $335.93 while the stock trades near $242.95, implying notable analyst upside.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,225 shares of the software company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,766 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Autodesk worth $93,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADSK. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 12.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 153,180 shares of the software company's stock worth $48,661,000 after acquiring an additional 17,358 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Autodesk by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 130,669 shares of the software company's stock worth $41,510,000 after purchasing an additional 20,543 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Autodesk by 246.4% in the 4th quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 52,649 shares of the software company's stock valued at $15,585,000 after purchasing an additional 37,449 shares during the period. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Autodesk by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 85,000 shares of the software company's stock valued at $27,002,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Finally, Freemont Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Autodesk in the third quarter valued at about $4,765,000. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autodesk Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Autodesk stock opened at $242.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $51.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Autodesk, Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.10 and a 12-month high of $329.09. The business's 50 day moving average is $241.68 and its 200-day moving average is $267.91.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The software company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.21. Autodesk had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 53.51%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Autodesk has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.290-12.560 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.820-2.860 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Autodesk, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ADSK shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Autodesk from $320.00 to $250.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Arete Research cut their target price on Autodesk from $460.00 to $456.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $383.00 price target (up from $373.00) on shares of Autodesk in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $319.00 to $336.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $246.00 price objective (down from $331.00) on shares of Autodesk in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.93.

About Autodesk

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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