Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE ARES opened at $186.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 91.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $125.23 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.16, for a total value of $4,423,287.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,705,414.76. This represents a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 26,518 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $4,539,351.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 167,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,739,581.38. This represents a 13.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 525,777 shares of company stock worth $93,531,158 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

Ares Management Company 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.