Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 108,600 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 94.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,023 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 108,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.28% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $9,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 209,783 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 3,203 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,646 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,485 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4,858.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,800 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 29,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,451 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,884,000 after purchasing an additional 18,284 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

NYSE APAM traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.66. The company had a trading volume of 582,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 462,430. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.75 and a fifty-two week high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.08. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 23.36%. Equities analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's payout ratio is 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on APAM. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $33.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.63.

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.