Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,307 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 379 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $9,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $229,056,000 after acquiring an additional 280,656 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,318,000 after acquiring an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $459,580,000 after acquiring an additional 175,627 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $190.36 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.73. 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 $59.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 554,167 shares of company stock worth $96,493,348. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.