Sigma Planning Corp Has $944,000 Stock Holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,370 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 18,909 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,818 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 135,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,006,000 after buying an additional 2,378 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,515,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 934,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $41,288,000 after buying an additional 211,965 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APAM. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 17th.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Up 2.1 %

APAM opened at $43.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.65 and its 200 day moving average is $40.95. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.27 and a fifty-two week high of $46.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.85.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $249.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Artisan Partners Asset Management

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

Artisan Partners Asset Management 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.