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

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) saw a large increase in short interest during 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 trading volume of 412,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Down 0.6 %

APAM stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.67. 387,265 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 482,760. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a 1-year low of $36.45 and a 1-year high of $49.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.63.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.50% and a net margin of 23.95%. The firm had revenue of $279.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is 79.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on APAM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $39.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on 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 raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the first quarter valued at $734,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,434,391 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,197,000 after acquiring an additional 102,421 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 453,638 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,652,000 after acquiring an additional 33,618 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 945.6% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 56,465 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 51,065 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the second quarter worth about $465,000. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.