Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 34,300 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,515,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 934,546 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $41,288,000 after purchasing an additional 211,965 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,225 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 716.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 612 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,192 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.62. 449,435 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 347,219. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.67 and a 200 day moving average of $40.91. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.27 and a fifty-two week high of $46.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 73.85% and a net margin of 22.80%. The business had revenue of $249.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $249.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous None dividend of $0.65. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on APAM. StockNews.com raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $41.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In related news, EVP Gregory K. Ramirez sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $105,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,523,403.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 18.50% 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.