Avestar Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 3,105 Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,105 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $106,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ARES stock traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $186.11. 784,863 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,039,461. The stock has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's fifty day moving average is $184.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.21. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS 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%. Equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.16, for a total value of $4,423,287.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,705,414.76. This represents a 13.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $4,508,196.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 167,235 shares in the company, valued at $28,627,287.30. The trade was a 13.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 525,777 shares of company stock valued at $93,531,158. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.