Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stake Lessened by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,471 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,751 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Ares Management were worth $19,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after acquiring an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Ares Management by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,903,741,000 after buying an additional 223,919 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,465,433,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after buying an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $907,534,000 after acquiring an additional 66,671 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 250,180 shares of company stock valued at $39,411,066. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $164.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $146.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.53. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 263.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $159.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

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.