DF Dent & Co. Inc. Sells 8,714 Shares of ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. cut its stake in ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 614,617 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 8,714 shares during the period. ANSYS accounts for 2.6% of DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned about 0.70% of ANSYS worth $207,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ANSS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ANSYS by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,643,766 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,590,462,000 after buying an additional 78,730 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in ANSYS by 3.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,703,249 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,179,966,000 after acquiring an additional 106,187 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in ANSYS by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,363,744 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $796,033,000 after acquiring an additional 58,190 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in ANSYS during the 4th quarter worth about $615,566,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ANSYS by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 570,525 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $192,456,000 after purchasing an additional 7,098 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ANSS. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on ANSYS from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ANSYS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

Insider Activity at ANSYS

In related news, Director Glenda Dorchak sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.62, for a total value of $67,324.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,154,606.60. This trade represents a 5.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ANSYS Price Performance

ANSS stock opened at $320.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 3.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $333.11 and its 200-day moving average is $334.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.13 billion, a PE ratio of 48.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.11. ANSYS, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.82 and a 1 year high of $363.03.

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The software maker reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.32). ANSYS had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 22.62%. The firm had revenue of $882.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $864.46 million. Equities research analysts expect that ANSYS, Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ANSYS

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.