Van ECK Associates Corp Has $1.85 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,469 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 2,545 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded down $5.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.00. 1,125,436 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,075,472. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.02. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $54.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ARES shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.17.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 29,198 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 $5,133,592.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 85,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,079,905.58. This trade represents a 25.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 28,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 24.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 392,200 shares of company stock worth $70,426,505. 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.