Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires 8,633 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 80.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,397 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APAM. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% in 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 166.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In other news, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total transaction of $300,876.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,002.96. The trade was a 14.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.90.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE APAM traded up $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.45. The stock had a trading volume of 379,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,991. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a one year low of $32.75 and a one year high of $49.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 23.36%. The firm had revenue of $277.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $281.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is 75.14%.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company Profile

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.