Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Shares Sold by Phocas Financial Corp.

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 5.5%, now holding approximately 114,508 shares worth about $4.48 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.68 to $0.73 per share, representing an annualized yield of 6.5%.
• Artisan Partners reported earnings of $0.83 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a 4.4% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter the previous year.

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,508 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 6,616 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.14% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $4,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 77.0% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

NYSE APAM traded down $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $45.51. 99,264 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 582,908. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.75 and a 12-month high of $49.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.69.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $282.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.00 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 71.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on 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. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total value of $300,876.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,002.96. This trade represents a 14.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,695,633.35. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.53% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management 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.