Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 330,534 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 15,957 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.41% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $14,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.0% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,771 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 370,267 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $16,040,000 after acquiring an additional 15,668 shares in the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 5,608 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 11,466 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,742 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:APAM opened at $46.67 on Friday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.45 and a 1-year high of $49.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.63.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $279.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.70 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 71.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.03%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $39.50 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.13.

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.