SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 600.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,531 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 26,170 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $1,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 67,047.1% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 253,816 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,924,000 after acquiring an additional 253,438 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 10,561 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter worth about $275,000. RDA Financial Network raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 9,129 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impact Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,164 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on APAM shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In other news, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 now owns 40,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,002.96. This trade represents a 14.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 91,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,695,633.35. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.53% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APAM traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.15. The company had a trading volume of 480,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,366. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.69. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a one year low of $32.75 and a one year high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $277.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $281.15 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.24% and a return on equity of 73.48%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is 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.