Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $34.75

Key Points

• Analysts remain cautious: Artisan Partners Asset Management has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with two sells, three holds and one buy. The average 12-month price target is $34.75, below the reported share price of $36.56.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.03 per share versus the $0.96 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $312.52 million.
• Dividend increased: APAM raised its quarterly dividend to $0.88 per share, or $3.52 annually, representing a 9.6% yield and a 75.65% payout ratio.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.75.

APAM has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research cut Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. 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 research note on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore set a $33.00 price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In other Artisan Partners Asset Management news, EVP Gregory Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management 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. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APAM. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 62,581 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,444,000. Prosperitas Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 9.6% in the third quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the third quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,085 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Down 0.1%

Artisan Partners Asset Management stock opened at $36.56 on Monday. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 52 week low of $30.86 and a 52 week high of $46.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm 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. Artisan Partners Asset Management's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.6%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is an investment management company that provides actively managed investment strategies to institutional and intermediary clients, as well as certain private wealth investors. The company operates through Artisan Partners, L.P. and related entities, offering investment expertise across equity, fixed-income and alternative asset classes.

Its products and services include strategies focused on U.S. and international equities, emerging markets, non-U.S.

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