Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,903 shares during the quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $444,103,000 after acquiring an additional 678,549 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,064 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $460,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,798,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $117.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.21. The company has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $113.24 and a 12-month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.38.

About Ares Management

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.