Evoke Wealth LLC Acquires 235 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $335,858,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after buying an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 26.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $229,056,000 after buying an additional 280,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,318,000 after buying an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $147.82 on Thursday. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $176.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.01. The stock has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a PE ratio of 72.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its 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, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % 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, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.