Quilter Plc Trims Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Quilter Plc decreased its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 622,731 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,242 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up 2.2% of Quilter Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $110,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $190.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.77, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,356,837.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 229,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,503,162.88. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,633,467.94. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 554,167 shares of company stock valued at $96,493,348. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.