Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Purchases New Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $229,056,000 after purchasing an additional 280,656 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $459,580,000 after buying an additional 175,627 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 573,181 shares of company stock valued at $101,459,161. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.9 %

Ares Management stock traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $186.11. 784,863 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,565. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 91.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 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 given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

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.