Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires 2,951 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 170.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,679 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Ares Management were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $982,058,000 after buying an additional 63,851 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $596,318,000 after buying an additional 187,184 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $600,830,000 after acquiring an additional 18,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,201,863 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $566,826,000 after acquiring an additional 352,126 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ARES. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES traded up $2.17 on Tuesday, reaching $155.92. 3,835,830 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,245. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $174.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $49.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Ares Management 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.