New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 36.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,348 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 59,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Ares Management were worth $15,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after purchasing an additional 206,996 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 58.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $674,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,933 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 49.4% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $376,191,000 after acquiring an additional 933,664 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 24.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $308,754,000 after acquiring an additional 453,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 38.5% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,171,188 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $289,376,000 after purchasing an additional 603,676 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock traded up $8.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,848,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,528. The company has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.82, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $156.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.00. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $101.44 and a 12-month high of $175.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at $51,102,893.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total value of $6,719,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 27,068 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,942,995.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 222,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,474,504.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 622,640 shares of company stock valued at $91,378,848. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Ares Management from $148.00 to $146.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.00.

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.