Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 15,957 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

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

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 25.3% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,812,080 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $78,499,000 after buying an additional 365,434 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter worth $10,685,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,122,086 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $48,609,000 after acquiring an additional 202,074 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 6,626,937 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $273,494,000 after acquiring an additional 160,297 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,643,915 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $114,534,000 after purchasing an additional 154,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.97. 212,579 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 439,762. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.79. 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 quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is 91.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on APAM shares. StockNews.com raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Evercore ISI increased 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 research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.