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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMG. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of Affiliated Managers Group from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Affiliated Managers Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $193.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Affiliated Managers Group from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affiliated Managers Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMG. Boston Partners increased 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 buying an additional 373,696 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,683,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 188,568 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Affiliated Managers Group by 79.1% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 423,994 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $78,405,000 after purchasing an additional 187,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Affiliated Managers Group by 119.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 305,497 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $56,493,000 after purchasing an additional 166,144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Affiliated Managers Group Stock Performance

Shares of Affiliated Managers Group stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $165.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,356. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $179.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Affiliated Managers Group has a fifty-two week low of $147.13 and a fifty-two week high of $199.52.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $6.53 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that Affiliated Managers Group will post 22.86 EPS for the current year.

Affiliated Managers Group Dividend Announcement

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

Affiliated Managers Group Company Profile

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.