Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.66 Million Holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,308 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 7,972 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.44% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $13,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APAM. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the first quarter worth about $63,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 118,700.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,650 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APAM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen cut their price objective 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 increased their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a 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, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 91,363 shares in the company, valued at $3,695,633.35. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of APAM stock traded up $0.91 on Wednesday, reaching $46.32. The company had a trading volume of 381,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,385. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a one year low of $32.75 and a one year high of $49.54. The business's 50-day moving average is $43.05 and its 200 day moving average is $41.52.

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 firm had revenue of $277.10 million during 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors 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 (DPR) is presently 75.14%.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company 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.