Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.38.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 5.8 %

APAM stock opened at $35.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 1.80. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 52-week low of $32.75 and a 52-week high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.08. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 23.36%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 574 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 166.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company Profile

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.