Mackenzie Financial Corp Trims Position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its position in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 59.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,409 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 25,603 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 12.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,234,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the first quarter worth $275,000. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 31.0% during the first quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 40,174 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 9,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,397 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APAM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Charles J. Daley, Jr. sold 15,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.45, for a total value of $624,871.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 91,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,695,633.35. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Samuel Bentson Sellers sold 6,801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total transaction of $300,876.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,002.96. This trade represents a 14.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Price Performance

APAM stock opened at $46.24 on Thursday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.75 and a 52 week high of $49.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.69.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $282.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.00 million. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 71.72%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.34%.

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.