Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

APAM has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore set a $37.00 price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.25.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of APAM opened at $37.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 1 year low of $34.99 and a 1 year high of $48.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.68.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $303.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $304.01 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 72.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.3%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is presently 77.97%.

Institutional Trading of Artisan Partners Asset Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 132.1% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 469,370 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,371,000 after purchasing an additional 267,136 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 413,389 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $17,941,000 after purchasing an additional 64,625 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 3rd quarter worth $1,613,000. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,041,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 795.3% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 100,914 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,380,000 after acquiring an additional 89,642 shares in 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 is a global investment management firm that specializes in active, fundamental research-driven strategies across a range of equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes. Founded in 1994 by Andrew Ziegler, the company has built a reputation for its team-based approach to portfolio construction, emphasizing deep sector expertise and independent analysis. Its product lineup includes U.S. and international equity strategies, global emerging markets, as well as credit and multisector fixed income offerings.

Artisan Partners serves a diverse client base that spans institutional investors, intermediaries and high-net-worth individuals located in North America, Europe and Asia.