Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Shares Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) dropped 5.4% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $38.10 and last traded at $38.0460. Approximately 99,649 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 855,196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore set a $33.00 price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.75.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Down 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $307.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.94 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 Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gregory Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $298,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 109,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,650,572.46. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.3% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 95,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 21.9% during the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 33,564 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 20.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 51.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company Profile

Artisan Partners Asset Management is a global investment management firm that provides active investment strategies to institutional and individual investors. The firm manages portfolios through specialized investment teams, each with its own investment approach and research process. Its offerings include equity and fixed-income strategies spanning a range of styles, market sectors and geographies. These strategies are available through vehicles such as mutual funds and separate accounts, serving clients including institutions and financial intermediaries.