Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 71.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15,376 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.9% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 10,435 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE APAM opened at $44.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.20. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.89 and a 52-week high of $49.54.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $279.70 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $39.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.13.

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.