Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,983 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,320 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.06% of Ares Management worth $32,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 633,100 shares of company stock worth $111,492,196 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of ARES traded down $3.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $182.70. 761,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,070,030. The firm has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.00, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $184.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

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.