Prana Capital Management LP Invests $25.10 Million in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Prana Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 141,768 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,000. Ares Management makes up approximately 1.2% of Prana Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 4,557.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $230,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276,743 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $175.66 on Thursday. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.62.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 263.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This trade represents a 69.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 250,180 shares of company stock valued at $39,411,066 over the last three months. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

Ares Management 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.