KBC Group NV Increases Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 22.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,218 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $96,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 66,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,028,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter worth $290,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 44,477 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 2,239 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.3% in the first quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 10,135 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the first quarter worth about $273,000. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:APAM opened at $47.68 on Friday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.45 and a 52 week high of $49.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $279.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $279.70 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.50% and a net margin of 23.95%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is currently 91.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on APAM. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $39.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.13.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

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.