Geode Capital Management LLC Has $531.20 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,006,357 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 55,906 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.96% of Ares Management worth $531,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4,557.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $230,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276,743 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 15.7 %

NYSE ARES traded up $19.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.58. 4,616,448 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,354,648. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $160.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.26. 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 firm has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49.

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Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.