Barclays PLC Sells 41,597 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Barclays PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 388,825 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 41,597 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.48% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $16,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APAM. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $293,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 31,659 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 16,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 4,077 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 574 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter valued at $20,607,000. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

NYSE:APAM traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.04. 67,492 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 552,534. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 1.80. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.75 and a 12 month high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.08. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.36% and a return on equity of 74.02%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on APAM shares. StockNews.com lowered Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $33.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.63.

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.