Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Purchased by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 48.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 198,284 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,981 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $35,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Ares Management by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE ARES opened at $164.93 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $159.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This trade 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 250,180 shares of company stock valued at $39,411,066 in the last ninety days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.