Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $9.37 Million in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 52,814 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $9,366,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 4,557.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $230,981,000 after buying an additional 1,276,743 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after buying an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE ARES traded up $2.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $137.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,184,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,858. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.06. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.07.

About Ares Management

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.