Starboard Value LP Invests $510.19 Million in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in shares of Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,852,000 shares of the software company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,189,000. Autodesk accounts for about 10.8% of Starboard Value LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Autodesk by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,071,950 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,255,054,000 after buying an additional 1,108,973 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Autodesk by 100.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,642,973 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $406,554,000 after acquiring an additional 825,165 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Autodesk by 366.5% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,040 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 662,339 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Autodesk by 58,375.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,797 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,564,170,000 after purchasing an additional 566,826 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Autodesk by 394.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 567,360 shares of the software company’s stock worth $156,296,000 after purchasing an additional 452,728 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.24% of the company’s stock.

Autodesk Price Performance

Shares of ADSK opened at $291.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Autodesk, Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.32 and a twelve month high of $326.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $289.93 and a 200-day moving average of $258.15.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The software company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.05. Autodesk had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 53.87%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Autodesk, Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Autodesk from $320.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Autodesk from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Autodesk from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Autodesk from $286.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Autodesk presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 286 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.84, for a total value of $78,604.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,944.36. This represents a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.31, for a total transaction of $156,920.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,787,262.69. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,936 shares of company stock worth $549,333 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Autodesk Profile

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.