Raymond James & Associates Acquires 15,811 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 420,020 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 15,811 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.52% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $17,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 19.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Arden Trust Co raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.5% during the second quarter. Arden Trust Co now owns 26,391 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 65.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APAM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of APAM stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 328,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 462,888. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.62. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.12 and a 12-month high of $46.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 1.81.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.59%.

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.