KBC Group NV Sells 1,738 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM

KBC Group NV decreased its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 43.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,738 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 77.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 80,412 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after buying an additional 4,593 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter worth $2,045,000. Burney Co. bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter worth $562,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter worth $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock opened at $41.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.70 and a 200 day moving average of $44.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.75 and a 12 month high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The asset manager reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $301.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.90 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 72.15% and a net margin of 22.90%.The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.5%. This is an increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on APAM shares. Zacks Research upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Artisan Partners Asset Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.25.

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.