Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Receives $38.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.00.

APAM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of APAM opened at $42.12 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.67. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 12-month low of $33.96 and a 12-month high of $47.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $307.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.32 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 73.11% and a net margin of 24.08%.The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.91 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, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Insider Activity at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In related news, EVP Gregory K. Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $298,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 109,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,650,572.46. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 850 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 45.8% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 955 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

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.