13,698 Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Purchased by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,698 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,425,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,957 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,305 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2,533.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 948 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ARES shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 28,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total value of $5,078,912.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 87,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,377,393.02. This represents a 24.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 392,200 shares of company stock worth $70,426,505 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE:ARES traded down $5.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $174.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,125,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,472. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.02. 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 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.71, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

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.