Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 59.2% in March to 758,066 shares (about 3.0% of shares outstanding), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 2.0 days based on average volume.
• Insider selling was reported: General Counsel Kavita Padiyar sold 2,200 shares and COO Thomas Wojcik sold 8,000 shares in March, with corporate insiders owning about 4.20% of the stock.
• Affiliated Managers Group beat EPS expectations with $9.48 per share versus $8.75 expected while revenue of $556.6M missed estimates, and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $350.14.

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 758,066 shares, a growth of 59.2% from the March 15th total of 476,318 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 373,238 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Kavita Padiyar sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total transaction of $612,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 42,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,873,057.28. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas M. Wojcik sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.30, for a total value of $2,290,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 159,465 shares in the company, valued at $45,654,829.50. The trade was a 4.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Affiliated Managers Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,003 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 482 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Affiliated Managers Group Stock Performance

AMG stock opened at $291.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $292.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.00. Affiliated Managers Group has a twelve month low of $151.30 and a twelve month high of $334.78. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.20.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The asset manager reported $9.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.75 by $0.73. Affiliated Managers Group had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 34.55%.The business had revenue of $556.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Affiliated Managers Group will post 22.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Affiliated Managers Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. Affiliated Managers Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 0.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Affiliated Managers Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $408.00 price target on Affiliated Managers Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Affiliated Managers Group from $300.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Affiliated Managers Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $350.14.

About Affiliated Managers Group

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc NYSE: AMG is a global asset management holding company that partners with boutique investment firms. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, AMG invests in and collaborates with independent investment managers to foster growth while preserving their entrepreneurial culture. Through equity stakes and strategic support, the company aims to enhance its affiliates' distribution capabilities, operational infrastructure and access to capital.

The company's core business activities include providing capital solutions, distribution services and operational support to affiliated investment firms.

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