Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lowered its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,616 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,607 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 worth $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $982,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,851 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $459,580,000 after buying an additional 175,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES traded down $5.70 on Friday, reaching $174.00. 1,125,436 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,075,472. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $54.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.02.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 29,198 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total value of $5,133,592.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 85,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,079,905.58. The trade was a 25.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 392,200 shares of company stock worth $70,426,505. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.