Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,287 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 16,808 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.68% of ANSYS worth $214,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ANSYS by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the software maker's stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in ANSYS by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,523 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ANSYS by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ANSYS by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the software maker's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC grew its holdings in shares of ANSYS by 2.4% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the software maker's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 92.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ANSYS Price Performance

ANSS stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $328.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 219,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,115. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company's fifty day moving average is $334.57 and its 200-day moving average is $323.87. The company has a market capitalization of $28.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 1.16. ANSYS, Inc. has a 1 year low of $258.01 and a 1 year high of $364.31.

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The software maker reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.54). ANSYS had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 19.51%. The business had revenue of $466.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $549.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that ANSYS, Inc. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other ANSYS news, Director Glenda Dorchak sold 150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.08, for a total value of $51,312.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,043,001.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ANSS. StockNews.com started coverage on ANSYS in a report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of ANSYS from $314.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of ANSYS in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on ANSYS from $350.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of ANSYS in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $320.00.

ANSYS Company Profile

ANSYS, Inc develops and markets engineering simulation software and services for engineers, designers, researchers, and students in the United States, Japan, Germany, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers structural analysis product suite that provides simulation tools for product design and optimization; the Ansys Mechanical product, an element analysis software; LS-DYNA solver for multiphysics simulation; and power analysis and optimization software suite.