Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 23.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 343,169 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 103,557 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.43% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $12,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 138,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,421,000 after buying an additional 27,676 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,357 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 1,626 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 46.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 30,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 9,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 58.5% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,982 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Up 2.0%

Artisan Partners Asset Management stock opened at $39.30 on Friday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.96 and a twelve month high of $48.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.04). Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 72.99% and a net margin of 23.49%.The company had revenue of $303.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $304.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research lowered Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Profile

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is a global investment management firm that specializes in active, fundamental research-driven strategies across a range of equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes. Founded in 1994 by Andrew Ziegler, the company has built a reputation for its team-based approach to portfolio construction, emphasizing deep sector expertise and independent analysis. Its product lineup includes U.S. and international equity strategies, global emerging markets, as well as credit and multisector fixed income offerings.

Artisan Partners serves a diverse client base that spans institutional investors, intermediaries and high-net-worth individuals located in North America, Europe and Asia.