Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.38.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APAM opened at $42.18 on Friday. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 52 week low of $37.89 and a 52 week high of $49.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.08. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.36% and a return on equity of 74.02%. On average, equities analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders 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 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,852,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 224,254 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 15,266 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 169,607 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,302,000 after purchasing an additional 32,953 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,397 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.