Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,622 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter worth $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Ares Management by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.83.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Trading Down 1.2 %

Ares Management stock traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.69. 2,110,386 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,087. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $174.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

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.