Short Interest in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Drops By 20.8%

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a decline of 20.8% from the February 28th total of 2,600,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 518,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on APAM shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Artisan Partners Asset Management presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 208.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 574 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 166.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:APAM traded up $0.65 on Wednesday, hitting $40.26. The company had a trading volume of 356,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,110. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 1 year low of $37.89 and a 1 year high of $49.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.83.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

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.