Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,070 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,106 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $11,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $126,622,000 after acquiring an additional 32,273 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Ares Management by 134.1% during the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ARES. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.00.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ARES traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $140.18. 558,665 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,815,050. The firm's 50 day moving average is $155.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.05, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. 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 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.