Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Short Interest Up 8.2% in August

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the July 31st total of 2,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 467,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

APAM opened at $41.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.81. Artisan Partners Asset Management has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $46.75.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.05). Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 71.76% and a net margin of 22.75%. The business had revenue of $270.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.83%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APAM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.