7,079 Shares in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Bought by MQS Management LLC

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,097,132 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $348,582,000 after purchasing an additional 78,979 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,970,796 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $77,057,000 after buying an additional 381,210 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,598 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $78,092,000 after buying an additional 38,284 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 903,986 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,917,000 after buying an additional 20,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter worth $20,607,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:APAM traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.32. 381,645 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 504,685. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.75 and a 52-week high of $49.54.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued 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 5.87%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.14%.

Insider Transactions at Artisan Partners Asset Management

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 transaction of $300,876.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,002.96. This trade represents a 14.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 91,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,695,633.35. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen dropped their target price 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. TD Securities lifted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.10.

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.