Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 192,254 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,581,772 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 192,254 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.51% of Ares Management worth $210,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $291,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 385,222 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $45,812,000 after purchasing an additional 12,271 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,694 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $205,499,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 38,769 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ARES. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.42.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $156.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,633,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,123,266. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $96.00 and a 12 month high of $157.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $48.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $144.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.12.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.40, for a total value of $1,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 376,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,162,788.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.40, for a total value of $1,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 376,702 shares in the company, valued at $58,162,788.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 604,316 shares of company stock valued at $87,718,000. 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.