Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Artisan Partners shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $38.48 after Zacks upgraded the stock from “strong sell” to “hold.” Despite the move, analysts’ consensus rating remains “Reduce,” with an average price target of $34.75.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.03, exceeding estimates of $0.96, while revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $312.52 million.
• Artisan Partners raised its quarterly dividend to $0.88 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.52 payout and a 9.2% yield.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $38.33 and traded as high as $38.48. Artisan Partners Asset Management shares last traded at $38.3490, with a volume of 2,246,730 shares changing hands.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on APAM. Evercore set a $36.00 price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $34.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gregory Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $298,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 109,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,650,572.46. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,341 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,861 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 62,581 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 3rd quarter worth $2,444,000. Prosperitas Financial LLC grew its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 3rd quarter worth $212,000. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 4.8%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.70.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.69% and a net margin of 24.54%. The firm had revenue of $312.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio is 75.65%.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company Profile

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is an investment management company that provides actively managed investment strategies to institutional and intermediary clients, as well as certain private wealth investors. The company operates through Artisan Partners, L.P. and related entities, offering investment expertise across equity, fixed-income and alternative asset classes.

Its products and services include strategies focused on U.S. and international equities, emerging markets, non-U.S.

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