Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.25.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on APAM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Evercore set a $34.00 target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Friday, October 9th.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Artisan Partners Asset Management stock opened at $31.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 1.70. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a one year low of $30.86 and a one year high of $46.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 73.11%. The company had revenue of $307.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Insider Activity at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In related news, EVP Gregory Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $298,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 109,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,650,572.46. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 11.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,587,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $94,175,000 after acquiring an additional 289,105 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 8.4% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,704,243 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $58,848,000 after purchasing an additional 132,708 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 25.9% in the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 551,336 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,063,000 after purchasing an additional 113,491 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 101.7% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 218,013 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,933,000 after purchasing an additional 109,926 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 97.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 152,925 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,565,000 after purchasing an additional 75,426 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

Artisan Partners Asset Management, Inc (NYSE: APAM) is a global investment management firm that provides active investment strategies to institutional investors, financial intermediaries and private clients. The company operates through affiliated investment teams with distinct approaches, investment philosophies and areas of expertise.

Artisan Partners offers a range of equity, fixed-income and alternative investment strategies. Its products and services include separately managed accounts, mutual funds, collective investment trusts and other investment vehicles designed for institutions, wealth managers and individual investors.