Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 575,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.18% of Ares Management worth $101,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $117.54 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.33. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $108.69 and a 1-year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. 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 yield of 3.81%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 in the last three months. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on 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 cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.38.

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.