North Star Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. $AMG

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management reduced its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,106 shares and leaving it with 77,228 shares worth about $22.3 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on AMG, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold; the consensus target price is $362.29, while several firms recently reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings with targets as high as $454.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $8.23 versus the $8.10 estimate and revenue of $544.9 million, and it also declared a small quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share.

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,228 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,106 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Affiliated Managers Group worth $22,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 4,242 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 387.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Affiliated Managers Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 709.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 615 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a research note on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $454.00 target price on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Affiliated Managers Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Affiliated Managers Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.29.

Affiliated Managers Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AMG opened at $301.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.54 and a 52 week high of $334.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $287.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.14.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $8.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.10 by $0.13. Affiliated Managers Group had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $544.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $544.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. will post 34.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Affiliated Managers Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.0%. Affiliated Managers Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 0.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Kavita Padiyar sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $612,128.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 42,672 shares in the company, valued at $11,873,057.28. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director G. Staley Cates purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $305.83 per share, for a total transaction of $458,745.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,958,841.15. This trade represents a 30.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,602 shares of company stock worth $4,240,522. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Affiliated Managers Group Company Profile

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc NYSE: AMG is a global asset management holding company that partners with boutique investment firms. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, AMG invests in and collaborates with independent investment managers to foster growth while preserving their entrepreneurial culture. Through equity stakes and strategic support, the company aims to enhance its affiliates' distribution capabilities, operational infrastructure and access to capital.

The company's core business activities include providing capital solutions, distribution services and operational support to affiliated investment firms.

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