Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM Stake Lowered by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 89.4%, leaving it with 3,144 shares valued at $123,000.
• Artisan Partners Asset Management announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.68 to $0.73, reflecting a yield of 6.4% based on an annualized basis.
• Several analysts have rated Artisan Partners with mixed reviews, while the company has an average target price of $39.30 and a current stock price of $45.94.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 89.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,144 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 26,656 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APAM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 12.9% in 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 buying an additional 6,508 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 9,518 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 77,190 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 5,478 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APAM traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.61. 65,291 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 562,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $46.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.71. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.75 and a twelve month high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.72% and a net margin of 23.87%.The company had revenue of $282.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on APAM. Wall Street Zen raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Artisan Partners Asset Management has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.90.

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.