Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $4.53 Million in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 109,797 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,531,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.14% of Artisan Partners Asset Management at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APAM. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,331,970 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $60,965,000 after buying an additional 397,424 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,581,267 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $69,860,000 after buying an additional 318,355 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter worth about $9,907,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter worth about $7,287,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter worth about $4,209,000. 86.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

NYSE APAM traded up $0.55 on Monday, hitting $41.01. 443,802 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $40.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.68. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.12 and a fifty-two week high of $46.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.81.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.05). Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.76% and a net margin of 22.75%. The business had revenue of $270.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.93%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is presently 86.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

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.