MML Investors Services LLC Lowers Holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

MML Investors Services LLC decreased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 71.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,035 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 15,376 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,415 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 41.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,255 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 10,435 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Artisan Partners Asset Management stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.66. The company had a trading volume of 257,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,675. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.21. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.89 and a 12-month high of $49.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.50% and a net margin of 23.95%. The company had revenue of $279.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $279.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.34%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is 91.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Company 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.