Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Holdings Boosted by Wrapmanager Inc.

Wrapmanager Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,870 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 214,571 shares of company stock worth $39,165,379 in the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE ARES opened at $167.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.44, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.15.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Ares Management 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.