Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock Position Lowered by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 713,159 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 131,428 shares during the period. Ares Management comprises approximately 3.7% of Peregrine Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Ares Management worth $126,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Ares Management by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock traded down $5.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $174.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,125,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,472. The business has a fifty day moving average of $185.12 and a 200-day moving average of $168.02. The stock has a market cap of $54.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. 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 quarterly 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 28,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total transaction of $5,078,912.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 87,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,377,393.02. This trade represents a 24.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 392,200 shares of company stock worth $70,426,505. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.