Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 4,734,274 shares, a drop of 17.3% from the February 12th total of 5,723,607 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 604,922 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.8 days. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 604,922 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.8 days.

Institutional Trading of Artisan Partners Asset Management

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 170.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,219 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 10,230 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 522.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,974 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 32,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of APAM stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.44. The stock had a trading volume of 586,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,655. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.87. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a twelve month low of $32.75 and a twelve month high of $48.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.15. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 73.73%. The firm had revenue of $335.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 134.0%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is currently 100.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APAM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.00.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

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.