Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Holdings Decreased by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has reduced its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 52.8%, selling 20,129 shares, leaving it with 18,001 shares valued at approximately $704,000.
• Artisan Partners recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.73 per share, marking a rise from the previous dividend of $0.68, resulting in a dividend yield of 6.5%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Artisan Partners, with the consensus rating categorized as a "Hold" and a price target of $39.30.

Vestcor Inc cut its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 52.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,001 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 20,129 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 574 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter worth $63,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 77.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 118,700.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 36.2% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,996 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of APAM stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.24. 551,878 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 586,333. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.75 and a fifty-two week high of $49.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $44.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APAM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.30.

Insider Transactions at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In related news, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.45, for a total transaction of $624,871.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 91,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,695,633.35. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total value of $300,876.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,002.96. This trade represents a 14.37% 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 insiders.

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.