HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 4,065 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,592 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,065 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $8,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

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Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES traded down $3.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $143.96. 1,292,289 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,208,501. 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's fifty day moving average price is $177.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.18. The firm has a market cap of $45.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.