Fmr LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Fmr LLC grew its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 2.27% of Ares Management worth $1,258,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Ares Management by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $117.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $108.69 and a 12-month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lowered 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. Barclays reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 41.89% 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.