Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,622 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 59,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,709,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Ares Management by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $5,038,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,006 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $147.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.06. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

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.