Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least one business day to settle. Accordingly, Artisan Partners Asset Management investors that purchase the stock on or after the 16th of May will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.68 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$3.55 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Artisan Partners Asset Management has a trailing yield of approximately 8.7% on its current stock price of US$40.82. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Artisan Partners Asset Management's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Artisan Partners Asset Management has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

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Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Its dividend payout ratio is 84% of profit, which means the company is paying out a majority of its earnings. The relatively limited profit reinvestment could slow the rate of future earnings growth. We'd be concerned if earnings began to decline.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

View our latest analysis for Artisan Partners Asset Management

Click here to see how much of its profit Artisan Partners Asset Management paid out over the last 12 months.NYSE:APAM Historic Dividend May 11th 2025

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Artisan Partners Asset Management, with earnings per share up 4.9% on average over the last five years.

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The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Artisan Partners Asset Management has delivered 4.9% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Artisan Partners Asset Management? Artisan Partners Asset Management has been generating some growth in earnings per share while paying out more than half of its earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. At best we would put it on a watch-list to see if business conditions improve, as it doesn't look like a clear opportunity right now.

However if you're still interested in Artisan Partners Asset Management as a potential investment, you should definitely consider some of the risks involved with Artisan Partners Asset Management. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Artisan Partners Asset Management (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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