Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. Takes $1.48 Million Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 34,461 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,484,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APAM. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.9% during 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 boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on APAM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of 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. Evercore ISI decreased 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 note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.90.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

APAM traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.51. The stock had a trading volume of 638,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,060. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.59. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.75 and a 12 month high of $49.54.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total transaction of $300,876.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,002.96. The trade was a 14.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 12.98% 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.