Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys New Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 47,600 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $8,427,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FIL Ltd increased its position in Ares Management by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 413,025 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $73,118,000 after buying an additional 84,089 shares during the period. Blue Whale Capital LLP increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 228,651 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,478,000 after purchasing an additional 85,088 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $513,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,346 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 17,229 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 6.3 %

NYSE ARES traded up $8.95 on Wednesday, hitting $150.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,383. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $110.63 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The company's 50-day moving average is $151.18 and its 200 day moving average is $168.14. The firm has a market cap of $47.52 billion, a PE ratio of 74.22, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32.

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 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. 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 2.97%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last three months. 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.