Arizona State Retirement System Sells 351 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,140 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 458.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 670 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

NYSE:APAM opened at $42.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.78. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.27 and a twelve month high of $46.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78. The company had revenue of $249.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.90 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 73.85% and a net margin of 22.80%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In related news, EVP Gregory K. Ramirez sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $105,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,523,403.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 18.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APAM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 17th.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

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.