Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 103,557 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. $APAM

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 343,169 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 103,557 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $12,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 279,067 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,369,000 after buying an additional 49,635 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,135,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,653,000. Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 154.5% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 45,733 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 27,762 shares during the period. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter worth $3,490,000. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Artisan Partners Asset Management stock opened at $39.30 on Friday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.96 and a 1-year high of $48.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.66.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $303.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.01 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 72.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APAM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore set a $36.00 price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $39.25.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company Profile

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is a global investment management firm that specializes in active, fundamental research-driven strategies across a range of equity, fixed income and alternative asset classes. Founded in 1994 by Andrew Ziegler, the company has built a reputation for its team-based approach to portfolio construction, emphasizing deep sector expertise and independent analysis. Its product lineup includes U.S. and international equity strategies, global emerging markets, as well as credit and multisector fixed income offerings.

Artisan Partners serves a diverse client base that spans institutional investors, intermediaries and high-net-worth individuals located in North America, Europe and Asia.