Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

APAM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.38.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of APAM traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.54. 665,942 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,969. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 52 week low of $37.89 and a 52 week high of $49.54. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $43.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.81.

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Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is 92.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APAM. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,792 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter valued at $1,852,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 224,254 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,654,000 after acquiring an additional 15,266 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 169,607 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,302,000 after purchasing an additional 32,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter worth about $368,000. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.