Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 818,400 shares, a growth of 30.2% from the January 31st total of 628,700 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 199,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affiliated Managers Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMG. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 140 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Affiliated Managers Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 131.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 218 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Affiliated Managers Group during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group during the third quarter worth $47,000. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Affiliated Managers Group Price Performance

NYSE AMG traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $165.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,356. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $179.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.01. Affiliated Managers Group has a fifty-two week low of $147.13 and a fifty-two week high of $199.52. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.15.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $6.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.50. Affiliated Managers Group had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 25.06%. Analysts forecast that Affiliated Managers Group will post 22.86 EPS for the current year.

Affiliated Managers Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.02%. Affiliated Managers Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 0.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $193.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Affiliated Managers Group from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of Affiliated Managers Group from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.40.

About Affiliated Managers Group

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc, through its affiliates, operates as an investment management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients,retails and high net worth individuals in the United States. It provides advisory or sub-advisory services to mutual funds.