MQS Management LLC Makes New $277,000 Investment in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,079 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 4th quarter valued at $20,607,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,838 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 40,254 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 22,634 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,281 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 4,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total value of $300,876.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,695,633.35. This represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on APAM shares. TD Securities increased their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.10.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE APAM traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.23. 346,796 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 581,983. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $43.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.70.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $277.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $281.15 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 73.48% and a net margin of 23.24%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.14%.

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.