Meritage Portfolio Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,379 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,078 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.14% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $4,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,533,396 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $66,426,000 after buying an additional 99,005 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 210.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 59,735 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 40,468 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,775,314 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $76,920,000 after purchasing an additional 82,868 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 3rd quarter worth $1,801,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 8.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 453,638 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $19,652,000 after purchasing an additional 33,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APAM traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.51. 499,631 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,049. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.81. The business's fifty day moving average is $44.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.69. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a one year low of $37.89 and a one year high of $49.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.08. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 23.36%. As a group, analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on APAM shares. StockNews.com cut Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.38.

Artisan Partners Asset Management 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.