Blue Whale Capital LLP Buys 85,088 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Blue Whale Capital LLP boosted its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 59.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,651 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 85,088 shares during the period. Ares Management makes up 3.0% of Blue Whale Capital LLP's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Blue Whale Capital LLP owned about 0.07% of Ares Management worth $40,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after buying an additional 807,361 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Ares Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $907,534,000 after buying an additional 66,671 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $596,318,000 after acquiring an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

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Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock traded up $2.12 on Friday, hitting $137.89. 3,184,457 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,372,277. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. The firm's 50 day moving average is $157.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 67.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. 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 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $166.07.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.