Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Grows Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. has increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 92.4%, owning approximately $3.68 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 45,178 shares in the first quarter.
• Artisan Partners Asset Management announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.68 to $0.73 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $2.92 and a yield of 6.3%.
• Artisan Partners reported earnings of $0.83 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $282.80 million, which is a 4.4% increase year-over-year.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 92.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,052 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 45,178 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned about 0.12% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $3,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APAM. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% during 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 last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the first quarter worth $63,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 77.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 118,700.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 36.2% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,996 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

APAM stock traded down $0.4650 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.7150. The stock had a trading volume of 68,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,350. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $45.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.69. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.75 and a 52-week high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $282.80 million during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on APAM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target 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, TD Securities upped their target price on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the company'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 value of $624,871.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,695,633.35. This represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.53% of the company's stock.

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.