Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Shares in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APAM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 45.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 70.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 22.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,218 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of APAM stock opened at $44.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.81. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.89 and a 52 week 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 has a 50 day moving average of $44.21 and a 200-day moving average of $43.73.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on APAM. TD Cowen increased 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Artisan Partners Asset Management presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.38.

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.