Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) EVP Gregory Ramirez Sells 7,000 Shares

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) EVP Gregory Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 109,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,650,572.46. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE APAM opened at $42.04 on Friday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.96 and a 12 month high of $47.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.58 and a 200-day moving average of $38.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.67.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 73.11%. The business had revenue of $307.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $301.32 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $36.00 price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,048,225 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $124,185,000 after buying an additional 54,667 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,769,107 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $122,755,000 after purchasing an additional 12,356 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 12.6% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,587,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $94,175,000 after purchasing an additional 289,105 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,022,630 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $82,402,000 after purchasing an additional 30,515 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,967,732 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $80,165,000 after purchasing an additional 250,475 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is 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.