Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock Position Trimmed by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,592 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,065 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $8,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth 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. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. The trade was a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $3.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.73. 602,283 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,206,190. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $177.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.17. The firm has a market cap of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

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.