Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,870 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,842 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $444,103,000 after acquiring an additional 678,549 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 435,103 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,807,000 after buying an additional 129,611 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 24.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,237 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,036,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock traded up $1.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $141.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,209,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,772. The company has a market cap of $44.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.34.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.00.

Ares Management 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.