5,140 Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Purchased by Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,140 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $910,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $3.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $191.69. The company had a trading volume of 641,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 858,340. The business's 50 day moving average price is $177.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.18. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $112.83 and a 1-year high of $192.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a PE ratio of 88.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.92.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company's stock.

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.