Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $14.27 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,596 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,084 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $14,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $149.47 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.63, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.70.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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%. Analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

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.