Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 25,000 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 575,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Ares Management worth $101,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $2.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $137.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,184,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,277. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.97. The company has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 67.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week 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.

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Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 3.25%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Tuesday. JMP Securities upgraded 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, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $166.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.