Jones Financial Companies Lllp Has $1.32 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,429 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in 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 during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 1.0% in 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ares Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $596,318,000 after acquiring an additional 187,184 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.11. 3,354,109 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,083. The company has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $182.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. 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 data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ARES. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. This trade represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. The trade was a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 238,068 shares of company stock worth $40,998,846. Corporate 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.