Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,589,586 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 56,190 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 1.98% of Artisan Partners Asset Management worth $68,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 25.3% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,812,080 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $78,499,000 after acquiring an additional 365,434 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,122,086 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $48,609,000 after buying an additional 202,074 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,643,915 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $114,534,000 after acquiring an additional 154,536 shares in the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,247,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,775,314 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $76,920,000 after acquiring an additional 82,868 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on APAM. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.38.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE APAM traded down $1.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.17. The stock had a trading volume of 570,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,833. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.89 and a 12 month high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.08. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.36% and a return on equity of 74.02%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.11%.

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.