Wall Street Zen Downgrades Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Artisan Partners (NYSE:APAM) from a "buy" to a "hold", and several other firms have trimmed ratings or price targets, leaving the consensus rating at Hold with an average target of $40.60.
• Artisan beat the latest quarter's estimates with $1.26 EPS vs. $1.11 expected and revenue of $335.5M vs. $322.1M, with revenue up 13% year‑over‑year and strong profitability (net margin 24.26%, ROE 73.73%).
• The stock trades around $36.84 with a PE of 9.19 and market cap of about $2.97B, a 12‑month range of $33.88–$48.50, and roughly 86.45% institutional ownership.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Thursday. Evercore set a $37.00 price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Artisan Partners Asset Management has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.60.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of APAM stock opened at $36.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $39.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.61. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 12 month low of $33.88 and a 12 month high of $48.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 1.76.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The asset manager reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $335.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.13 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 73.73%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APAM. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 132.1% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 469,370 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $20,371,000 after buying an additional 267,136 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,967,732 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $80,165,000 after buying an additional 250,475 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 202.9% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 348,615 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,130,000 after buying an additional 233,523 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 71.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 535,298 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $21,808,000 after buying an additional 222,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,573,381 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $68,285,000 after buying an additional 205,380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company Profile

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is a global investment management firm that specializes in active, fundamental research-driven strategies across a range of equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes. Founded in 1994 by Andrew Ziegler, the company has built a reputation for its team-based approach to portfolio construction, emphasizing deep sector expertise and independent analysis. Its product lineup includes U.S. and international equity strategies, global emerging markets, as well as credit and multisector fixed income offerings.

Artisan Partners serves a diverse client base that spans institutional investors, intermediaries and high-net-worth individuals located in North America, Europe and Asia.

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