Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,247 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $4,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1,785.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,746 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $0.97 on Monday, hitting $176.01. The stock had a trading volume of 934,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,076,528. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $112.83 and a twelve month high of $185.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.51 and a 200 day moving average of $158.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.11, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ARES shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $176.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.33.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at $35,802,571.96. This trade represents a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 614,167 shares of company stock worth $106,716,247 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ares Management

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.