Cibc World Markets Corp Trims Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Cibc World Markets Corp lessened its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,307 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $335,858,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 position in shares of Ares Management by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $229,056,000 after buying an additional 280,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after acquiring an additional 187,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Ares Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ARES opened at $147.95 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.