Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Purchased by Keybank National Association OH

Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Ares Management by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,924 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 678,549 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Ares Management by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 12,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,882 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $155.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a PE ratio of 76.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 fifty day moving average price is $182.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.09. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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%. On average, analysts expect 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. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. The trade was a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 238,068 shares of company stock valued at $40,998,846. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 lifted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

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.