Short Interest in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Rises By 9.3%

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,710,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the October 15th total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 412,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Artisan Partners Asset Management

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 735.9% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE APAM opened at $46.89 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $36.45 and a 52 week high of $49.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.67.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.