Gregory Ramirez Sells 7,000 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Stock

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) EVP Gregory Ramirez sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $298,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 109,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,650,572.46. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of APAM stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.04. The company had a trading volume of 442,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,771. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.96 and a 52-week high of $47.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.67.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $307.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $301.32 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 73.11%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APAM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore set a $36.00 target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $38.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APAM. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Triumph Capital Management lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 850 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 45.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 955 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 86.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.