Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $335.86 Million Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,897,179 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $335,858,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.61% of Ares Management at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ARES. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.17.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 232,625 shares of company stock valued at $40,018,344. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES traded down $14.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $140.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,160,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,196,968. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $182.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.27. The firm has a market cap of $44.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.42, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. 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.