Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stake Cut by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 183,983 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,320 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.06% of Ares Management worth $32,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $229,056,000 after purchasing an additional 280,656 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 6.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $459,580,000 after buying an additional 175,627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $190.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.62. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The firm has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

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.