Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 50,762 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its position by 0.7% (sold 50,762 shares) to 7,663,975 shares, remaining a roughly 9.50% owner of Artisan Partners worth about $312.2 million.
• Analysts have grown cautious—consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average target of $39.25 and a mix of 1 Buy, 3 Hold and 2 Sell ratings after several downgrades and target cuts.
• Artisan slightly missed the quarter (EPS $0.87 vs. $0.91 expected; revenue $303M vs. $304M) and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 (annualized $3.08) implying an 8.2% yield but a payout ratio of 102.28%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,663,975 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 50,762 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.50% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $312,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,769,107 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $122,755,000 after purchasing an additional 12,356 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,625,936 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $70,566,000 after purchasing an additional 16,437 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,573,381 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $68,285,000 after purchasing an additional 205,380 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,502,287 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $65,199,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,093,842 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $47,473,000 after purchasing an additional 11,169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research cut Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $39.25.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:APAM opened at $37.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 1.68. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.99 and a 12-month high of $48.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $303.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $304.01 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 72.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.28%.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is a global investment management firm that specializes in active, fundamental research-driven strategies across a range of equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes. Founded in 1994 by Andrew Ziegler, the company has built a reputation for its team-based approach to portfolio construction, emphasizing deep sector expertise and independent analysis. Its product lineup includes U.S. and international equity strategies, global emerging markets, as well as credit and multisector fixed income offerings.

Artisan Partners serves a diverse client base that spans institutional investors, intermediaries and high-net-worth individuals located in North America, Europe and Asia.

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