Strs Ohio Reduces Holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Strs Ohio trimmed its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,736 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 58,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,097 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 8,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Artisan Partners Asset Management

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 17th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $41.00 price objective on the stock.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management stock opened at $43.43 on Wednesday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.27 and a 1 year high of $46.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.95.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.78. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 22.80% and a return on equity of 73.85%. The company had revenue of $249.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous None dividend of $0.65. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.08%.

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.