Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 192,715 Shares of Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. $AMG

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically boosted its stake in Affiliated Managers Group, buying 192,715 shares in Q4 and lifting its holdings to 193,392 shares worth about $58.24 million.
• Affiliated Managers Group reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with earnings per share of $8.23 versus the $8.10 estimate and revenue of $544.9 million, up 9.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on AMG, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold rating, and a consensus price target of $362.29; the stock recently traded around $293.75.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG - Free Report) by 28,466.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,392 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 192,715 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.69% of Affiliated Managers Group worth $58,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,157,344 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $275,957,000 after buying an additional 24,217 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 684,116 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $163,113,000 after acquiring an additional 7,891 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 479,624 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $114,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Affiliated Managers Group by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 393,161 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $93,741,000 after acquiring an additional 50,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 350,212 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $83,501,000 after acquiring an additional 172,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMG. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $454.00 price objective on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Affiliated Managers Group in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.29.

Affiliated Managers Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Affiliated Managers Group stock opened at $293.75 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $286.55 and its 200 day moving average is $288.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.14. Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.54 and a 1 year high of $334.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $8.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.10 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $544.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $544.01 million. Affiliated Managers Group had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. will post 34.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Affiliated Managers Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Affiliated Managers Group

In other news, Director David Christopher Ryan sold 3,402 shares of Affiliated Managers Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total transaction of $1,037,814.12. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $333,125.52. This trade represents a 75.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas M. Wojcik sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.30, for a total value of $2,290,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 159,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,654,829.50. This trade represents a 4.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,602 shares of company stock valued at $4,240,522. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Affiliated Managers Group 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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