Short Interest in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Rises By 9.3%

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,710,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the October 15th total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 412,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of APAM stock opened at $46.89 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.67. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a one year low of $36.45 and a one year high of $49.52.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $279.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $279.70 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.95% and a return on equity of 71.50%. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is currently 79.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APAM has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Artisan Partners Asset Management currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Institutional Trading of Artisan Partners Asset Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the third quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 41.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 735.9% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the second quarter worth about $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

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.