Short Interest in Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) Rises By 30.2%

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) saw a significant increase in short interest during 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 volume of 199,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affiliated Managers Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMG. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 46.1% in the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in Affiliated Managers Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,683,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Affiliated Managers Group by 10,522.8% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 190,360 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 188,568 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 187,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Affiliated Managers Group by 119.2% during 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. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Affiliated Managers Group Stock Performance

AMG traded down $6.33 on Tuesday, hitting $161.02. 337,102 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 224,808. Affiliated Managers Group has a 12-month low of $147.13 and a 12-month high of $199.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.91 and a 200-day moving average of $181.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.15.

Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE:AMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $6.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.50. Affiliated Managers Group had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 25.06%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Affiliated Managers Group will post 22.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Affiliated Managers Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. 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.