Aviva PLC Purchases 90,105 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 388.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,105 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $20,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth about $9,366,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 463,805 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $82,107,000 after purchasing an additional 55,641 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $124.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.11.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.62.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.