Vestcor Inc Purchases 27,762 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 154.5% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 27,762 shares to bring its total to 45,733 shares worth about $1.86 million.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $0.87 versus $0.91 expected and revenue of $303.01 million versus $304.01 million forecast, though revenue still rose 9.3% year over year.
• Artisan Partners paid a $0.77 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of 8.3%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $39.25 price target.

Vestcor Inc raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 154.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,733 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 27,762 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc owned approximately 0.06% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 29,793 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,872 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,156 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 437,853 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $17,838,000 after buying an additional 17,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 497.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,880 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APAM opened at $37.16 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 1.67. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.99 and a 1 year high of $48.50.

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 firm had revenue of $303.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $304.01 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 72.99% and a net margin of 23.49%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.3%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio is 77.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on APAM. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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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