Signaturefd LLC Boosts Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,181 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 13.6% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 39,601 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,172,000 after buying an additional 4,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 137.0% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,987 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,868,000 after buying an additional 6,930 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price target 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, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $147.19 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $175.88 and a 200-day moving average of $169.85.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

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.