2Xideas AG Has $2.70 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

2Xideas AG cut its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 73.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,270 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 42,302 shares during the quarter. 2Xideas AG's holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after acquiring an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $907,534,000 after purchasing an additional 66,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ares Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $596,318,000 after buying an additional 187,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 0.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $600,830,000 after buying an additional 18,773 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.07.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $135.24. 1,379,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,366,530. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.99, 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.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.