Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,066,936 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 31,211 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.33% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $41,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,646 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,485 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,100 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,234,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $275,000. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 40,174 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 9,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,397 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 Securities boosted their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,002.96. This represents a 14.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.45, for a total transaction 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 represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of APAM stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $46.34. 363,009 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,737. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.75 and a 12-month high of $49.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.87%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is 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.