Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Raises Stock Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 142.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,355 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,149 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $2,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the first quarter worth $26,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 81.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 775 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

NYSE:APAM opened at $42.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.40. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.12 and a 1-year high of $46.75.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.65%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is 86.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on APAM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

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.