Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC lessened its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 210.5% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 354 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 300.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 400 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE ARES traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 445,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,017,933. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.12 billion, a PE ratio of 53.80, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.18. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $77.97 and a 1-year high of $139.48.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 155.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ARES shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,004,636.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,300,871 shares of company stock valued at $173,683,187 in the last 90 days. 47.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.