Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.73

Key Points

• Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.73 per share, reflecting a 7.4% increase from the previous dividend of $0.68.
• The company reported a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 72.25%, with quarterly revenues reaching $282.80 million, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Artisan Partners' stock price rose 1.4% to $45.26, with a market capitalization of $3.65 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 31st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.73 per share by the asset manager on Friday, August 29th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a 7.4% increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68.

Artisan Partners Asset Management has a dividend payout ratio of 80.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Artisan Partners Asset Management to earn $3.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.7%.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APAM traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.79. The company had a trading volume of 566,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,124. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.70. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 12 month low of $32.75 and a 12 month high of $49.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.69.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.72% and a net margin of 23.87%. The firm had revenue of $282.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.45, for a total transaction of $624,871.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,695,633.35. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total value of $300,876.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,793,002.96. This represents a 14.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APAM. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 10,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 117,084 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,190,000 after acquiring an additional 3,840 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,478 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 8,936 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 7,447 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 200.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 21,123 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 14,099 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is publicly owned investment manager. It provides its services to pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, government entities, private funds and non-U.S. funds, as well as mutual funds, non-U.S. funds and collective trusts.