Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,637,462 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 76,365 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.52% of Ares Management worth $289,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $126,622,000 after purchasing an additional 32,273 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 134.1% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $141.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,209,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,538. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.41. The stock has a market cap of $44.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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%. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ARES. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.