Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Raises Stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 92.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,178 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,940,562 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $114,976,000 after purchasing an additional 167,930 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,970,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $77,057,000 after acquiring an additional 381,210 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,228,743 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,044,000 after acquiring an additional 39,578 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,066,936 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,717,000 after acquiring an additional 31,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 903,986 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,917,000 after acquiring an additional 20,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Down 3.0%

APAM stock opened at $46.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a one year low of $32.75 and a one year high of $49.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.10.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $282.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.00 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 71.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In other news, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.45, for a total value of $624,871.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,695,633.35. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities upped their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.30.

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.