Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired 6,604 shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management, valued at approximately $258,000, marking a significant new position in the company.
• Artisan Partners Asset Management announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.73 per share, representing a yield of 6.3%, effective on August 29th.
• The company's stock has seen recent upgrades from analysts, with a current average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $39.30.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,604 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 574 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $63,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 77.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 118,700.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,996 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:APAM traded down $0.5430 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.5570. 394,523 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 582,356. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.75 and a 12-month high of $49.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.69.

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

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on APAM. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.45, for a total value of $624,871.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 91,363 shares in the company, valued at $3,695,633.35. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 12.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.