Quest Partners LLC Buys 40,468 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 210.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,735 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 40,468 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $2,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 348 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 buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 735.9% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,212 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company's stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

NYSE:APAM traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 407,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,453. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.07 and a 200-day moving average of $42.67. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.79. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.45 and a fifty-two week high of $49.52.

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective 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 lifted their target price on 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.13.

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.