Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the October 31st total of 2,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 408,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on APAM shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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 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 note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Artisan Partners Asset Management presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 raised its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. 86.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE APAM traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.93. The stock had a trading volume of 30,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,789. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 1.79. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $49.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.37%.

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.