WBI Investments LLC Takes Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,540 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,838 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 120,023 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,167,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 574 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.40. 488,279 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 488,407. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.76 and a 200 day moving average of $42.46. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.75 and a fifty-two week high of $49.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.07. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 23.36%. The business had revenue of $277.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $281.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.73%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is currently 75.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total value of $300,876.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,002.96. This represents a 14.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 12.98% of the company's stock.

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.