Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Financial Corp CA acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $596,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 12,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 5,667 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 15,780 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Marest Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,408 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 555,838 shares of company stock valued at $96,785,773. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $190.36 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a PE ratio of 87.72, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $183.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.35.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Ares Management Profile

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.