Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Purchased by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 49.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 137,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,400 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $24,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 36.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 61,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,533,000 after buying an additional 16,499 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 181.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 6,525 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,471,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $145.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.25. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.