Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 4,480 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 49.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,532 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,480 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Ares Management were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Ares Management by 31.2% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 4.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays dropped 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % 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. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $141.35. 1,209,962 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,383,772. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.63, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. 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 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $152.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.34.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

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.