Voya Investment Management LLC Has $15.99 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,297 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 20,923 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $15,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4,557.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $3,329,530,000 after acquiring an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,258,519,000 after acquiring an additional 807,361 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.6 %

ARES stock opened at $153.86 on Monday. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $48.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

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.

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