Chase Investment Counsel Corp Purchases 6,600 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,600 shares during the quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 58,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,097 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.8% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 54,783 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

APAM traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $41.81. 113,387 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 478,524. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.69 and its 200 day moving average is $41.12. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.27 and a 52 week high of $46.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The asset manager reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $264.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.90 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 72.77% and a net margin of 22.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is currently 82.93%.

Insider Activity at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In other news, EVP Gregory K. Ramirez sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $105,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,523,403.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 18.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on APAM shares. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 17th.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is publicly owned investment manager. It provides its services to pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, government entities, private funds and non-U.S. funds, as well as mutual funds, non-U.S. funds and collective trusts.