Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Buys New Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 97,195 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $17,206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 31.3% in 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 period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 137.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,987 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,868,000 after purchasing an additional 6,930 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $745,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,774 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,796,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 6.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 17,635 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,748,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.83.

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Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % 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 1.20% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock traded down $3.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,654,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,798. The firm has a market cap of $45.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The business's 50-day moving average is $172.08 and its 200 day moving average is $170.25. 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 (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.