Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $29.65 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,461 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,816 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of Ares Management worth $29,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in Ares Management by 1,572.7% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total value of $2,646,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,802,571.96. This trade represents a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 633,100 shares of company stock worth $111,492,196 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.9 %

Ares Management stock traded down $3.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $186.40. 798,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,081,464. The company's fifty day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.19. The company has a market cap of $58.36 billion, a PE ratio of 91.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.