Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Noah Holdings Ltd. $NOAH

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Noah Holdings Ltd. by 61.9%, acquiring an additional 266,602 shares, bringing its total to approximately 696,967 shares valued at $6,563,000.
• Other institutional investors like First Beijing Investment Ltd. and Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC have also boosted their stakes significantly, indicating growing confidence in Noah Holdings.
• Noah's shares received a rating upgrade from hold to buy by Wall Street Zen, with analysts forecasting a consensus price target of $12.00.

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Noah Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NOAH - Free Report) by 61.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 696,967 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 266,602 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.04% of Noah worth $6,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Noah by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 30,880 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Noah by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 19,085 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 2,930 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Noah during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Noah during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Noah by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 67,022 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 18,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Noah from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Noah Stock Up 1.4%

NOAH stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 296,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,609. Noah Holdings Ltd. has a 52-week low of $7.67 and a 52-week high of $14.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $781.68 million, a P/E ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.95.

Noah (NYSE:NOAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The asset manager reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter. Noah had a net margin of 22.17% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $87.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Noah Holdings Ltd. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noah Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $1.1572 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 830.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Noah's payout ratio is 50.00%.

About Noah

Noah Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a wealth and asset management service provider with the focus on investment and asset allocation services for high net worth individuals and enterprises in Mainland of China, Hong Kong, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Wealth Management, Asset Management, and Other Services.