Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 6,775 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 23.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,589 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,775 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the third quarter worth about $30,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

NYSE:APAM opened at $44.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.26. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.79. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $46.75.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.05). Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 22.75% and a return on equity of 71.76%. The business had revenue of $270.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. This is a positive change from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on APAM shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.83.

Artisan Partners Asset Management 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.