Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the July 31st total of 2,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 467,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

APAM stock opened at $41.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.81. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 12 month low of $32.12 and a 12 month high of $46.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.60.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.05). Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.76% and a net margin of 22.75%. The firm had revenue of $270.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.83%. 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 payout ratio is currently 86.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on APAM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Institutional Trading of Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,873,612 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $347,856,000 after purchasing an additional 75,304 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.5% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 6,626,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $273,494,000 after acquiring an additional 160,297 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,934,002 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $85,444,000 after acquiring an additional 12,977 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,617,617 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $66,757,000 after acquiring an additional 74,393 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,581,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $69,860,000 after acquiring an additional 318,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

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.