Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 13,655 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 114,714 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,655 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $13,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,694 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total value of $23,394,600.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,660,399.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,488,844 shares of company stock worth $200,239,222 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $145.60 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.25. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $81.79 and a fifty-two week high of $150.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a PE ratio of 65.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.17.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The company had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 166.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $154.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.46.

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.