Swiss National Bank Acquires 900 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $5,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,685,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 22.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,122,086 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,609,000 after acquiring an additional 202,074 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.5% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 6,626,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $273,494,000 after acquiring an additional 160,297 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,531,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 7.7% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,434,391 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,197,000 after acquiring an additional 102,421 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Artisan Partners Asset Management stock opened at $48.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.75 and its 200 day moving average is $42.81. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a one year low of $36.45 and a one year high of $49.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 71.50%. The firm had revenue of $279.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.49 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, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.78%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is 91.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $39.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.13.

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.