Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $38.33 and traded as high as $38.48. Artisan Partners Asset Management shares last traded at $38.3490, with a volume of 2,246,730 shares trading hands.

APAM has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Evercore set a $36.00 target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Artisan Partners Asset Management currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $34.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Artisan Partners Asset Management news, EVP Gregory Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $298,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APAM. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the second quarter worth $28,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 51.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,658 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 4.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.70.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 24.54% and a return on equity of 71.69%. The company had revenue of $312.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.2%. This is an increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company Profile

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is an investment management company that provides actively managed investment strategies to institutional and intermediary clients, as well as certain private wealth investors. The company operates through Artisan Partners, L.P. and related entities, offering investment expertise across equity, fixed-income and alternative asset classes.

Its products and services include strategies focused on U.S. and international equities, emerging markets, non-U.S.