Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Stock Price Down 5% Following Weak Earnings

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) shares dropped 5% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $41.11 and last traded at $41.25. Approximately 77,984 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 474,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.43.

The asset manager reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $264.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a return on equity of 73.85% and a net margin of 22.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous None dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a yield of 5.5%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APAM has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $41.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 17th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory K. Ramirez sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $105,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,523,403.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 18.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Artisan Partners Asset Management

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,873,612 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $347,856,000 after purchasing an additional 75,304 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,934,002 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $85,444,000 after buying an additional 12,977 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,581,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $69,860,000 after purchasing an additional 318,355 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 42.5% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,331,970 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,965,000 after purchasing an additional 397,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.8% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,009,353 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,770,000 after purchasing an additional 46,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Down 5.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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.