Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Autodesk, Inc. $ADSK

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 277,615 shares of the software company’s stock after selling 38,610 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Autodesk were worth $66,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADSK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter valued at about $867,480,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Autodesk by 44,345.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,280,515 shares of the software company’s stock worth $675,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275,384 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Autodesk by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,989,372 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $884,884,000 after buying an additional 952,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Autodesk by 103.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,868,159 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $552,994,000 after buying an additional 950,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,103,376 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $503,521,000 after buying an additional 936,388 shares in the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Autodesk Stock Performance

ADSK opened at $217.06 on Friday. Autodesk, Inc. has a 52-week low of $185.50 and a 52-week high of $329.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $217.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.48.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software company reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Autodesk had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 57.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Autodesk has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.650 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.140 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Autodesk, Inc. will post 9.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Autodesk news, Director Stacy J. Smith purchased 3,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $231.17 per share, for a total transaction of $794,068.95. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 26,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,129,934.89. This trade represents a 14.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John T. Cahill purchased 2,000 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $189.20 per share, with a total value of $378,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $756,800. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 7,935 shares of company stock worth $1,666,644. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Autodesk in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Autodesk from $350.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Autodesk in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Autodesk from $355.00 to $312.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Autodesk in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.10.

Autodesk 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.