Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stake Lessened by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 872,290 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 252,765 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.28% of Ares Management worth $154,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $444,103,000 after buying an additional 678,549 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $460,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,441 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,146 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,737,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 46,999 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,324,000 after buying an additional 6,358 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES traded up $3.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $141.88. 500,270 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,374,235. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $110.63 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.89, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $156.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.93.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side 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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.40.

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.