Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $16.28 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,948 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $16,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% in the 3rd 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. lifted its stake 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 during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 181.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,577,000 after buying an additional 6,525 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position 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 buying an additional 949 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 122.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 121,222 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,891,000 after acquiring an additional 66,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ARES. Barclays reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

Ares Management Stock Down 2.2 %

Ares Management stock opened at $145.07 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.46. The stock has a market cap of $45.75 billion, a PE ratio of 71.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.