CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,846,243 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 18,362 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC owned 0.59% of Ares Management worth $336,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 11.5 %

Ares Management stock traded down $17.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $136.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,403,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,715. 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 fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $169.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.10 billion, a PE ratio of 67.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research note on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.83.

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.