Guinness Asset Management LTD Acquires 1,776 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 50.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,308 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $982,058,000 after acquiring an additional 63,851 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Ares Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after acquiring an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $459,580,000 after acquiring an additional 175,627 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $191.69 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a PE ratio of 88.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $177.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.50. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $112.83 and a 12-month high of $192.01.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ARES. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,312,450. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.