Certior Financial Group LLC Makes New $513,000 Investment in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,900 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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, StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.07.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $137.89. 3,184,457 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,372,277. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The business's 50 day moving average is $157.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.97. 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 (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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 analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Ares Management Company 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.