Candriam S.C.A. Sells 53,092 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 43.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,781 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 53,092 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $9,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after purchasing an additional 206,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $460,525,000 after acquiring an additional 71,819 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 49.4% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $376,191,000 after purchasing an additional 933,664 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 38.5% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,171,188 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $289,376,000 after purchasing an additional 603,676 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,499,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:ARES traded up $2.63 on Monday, hitting $140.08. 1,068,460 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,130,872. The company has a market cap of $43.84 billion, a PE ratio of 61.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $96.00 and a 1 year high of $155.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.27.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 166.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $19,791,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $19,791,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,950,570.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,466,929.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 779,315 shares of company stock valued at $109,487,356 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.92.

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.