Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,047 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,046 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $12,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during 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 during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Ares Management by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of ARES stock traded up $2.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $141.22. 364,584 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,619. The stock has a market cap of $44.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.54, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.93. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Equities analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARES. Bank of America cut their target price on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JMP Securities upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.40.

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.