Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $25.06 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 138,355 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,761 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $25,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Ares Management by 31.2% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $126,622,000 after acquiring an additional 32,273 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of ARES opened at $145.07 on Monday. 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 $45.75 billion, a PE ratio of 71.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.08 and its 200-day moving average is $170.66. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note 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. 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.