Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 2,376 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Schroder Investment Management Group lowered its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,844 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,376 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group's holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $444,103,000 after acquiring an additional 678,549 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,064 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $460,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $1,798,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $166.07.

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Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $4.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $138.35. 695,928 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,352,487. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $43.64 billion, a PE ratio of 68.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. This trade represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.