Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $46.75 and last traded at $46.58, with a volume of 39833 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APAM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $40.00 to $39.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Artisan Partners Asset Management from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.83.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.30.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced 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 net margin of 22.75% and a return on equity of 71.76%. The company had revenue of $270.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.07%. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s payout ratio is 86.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artisan Partners Asset Management

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APAM. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 41.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.