Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Purchased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC raised its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 388.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,274 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 90,105 shares during the period. Aviva PLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $20,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Ares Management by 3.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,064 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $460,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,798,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE ARES traded up $2.12 on Friday, reaching $137.89. The company had a trading volume of 3,184,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,858. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $157.85 and its 200 day moving average is $169.06. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49.

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Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's payout ratio is 183.25%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.07.

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.