Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors lessened its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,168,551 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 781,799 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned 1.33% of Ares Management worth $737,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4,557.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $230,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276,743 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE ARES traded up $4.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.58. 1,150,293 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,384,193. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $152.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.33. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The firm has a market cap of $44.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. 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 3.16%. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ARES. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $165.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. The trade was a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, 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 have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Company Profile

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.