Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by Caldwell Investment Management Ltd.

Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 134.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Ares Management makes up 1.2% of Caldwell Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after buying an additional 36,476 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $641,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $183.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.42. The company has a market cap of $57.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.83 and a fifty-two week high of $185.06.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.92.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 614,167 shares of company stock valued at $106,716,247. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.