177,842 Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 177,842 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $31,483,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Ares Management as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 6.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,195,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $106,436,000 after buying an additional 36,476 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew 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 buying an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $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 fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Ares Management Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE ARES traded down $3.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $143.96. 1,292,289 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,208,874. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.41 billion, a PE ratio of 70.92, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.17.

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.