Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Quilter Plc

Quilter Plc decreased its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 622,731 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,242 shares during the quarter. Ares Management comprises about 2.2% of Quilter Plc's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Quilter Plc owned 0.20% of Ares Management worth $110,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 633,100 shares of company stock worth $111,492,196. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE ARES traded up $1.50 on Thursday, reaching $184.31. The company had a trading volume of 981,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,969. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.70 billion, a PE ratio of 90.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.34 and a 200-day moving average of $166.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

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.