Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 818,400 shares, a growth of 30.2% from the January 31st total of 628,700 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 199,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Affiliated Managers Group Stock Up 2.9 %

AMG stock traded up $4.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.89. 251,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 225,179. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.13. Affiliated Managers Group has a 1-year low of $147.13 and a 1-year high of $199.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.15.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $6.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.50. Affiliated Managers Group had a net margin of 25.06% and a return on equity of 16.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Affiliated Managers Group will post 22.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Affiliated Managers Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.02%. Affiliated Managers Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 0.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Affiliated Managers Group from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $193.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of Affiliated Managers Group from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,184,130 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $218,975,000 after acquiring an additional 373,696 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group in the fourth quarter worth $68,683,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Affiliated Managers Group by 10,522.8% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 190,360 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 188,568 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Affiliated Managers Group by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 423,994 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $78,405,000 after purchasing an additional 187,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Affiliated Managers Group by 119.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 305,497 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $56,493,000 after buying an additional 166,144 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Affiliated Managers Group

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc, through its affiliates, operates as an investment management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients,retails and high net worth individuals in the United States. It provides advisory or sub-advisory services to mutual funds.