Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,046 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $12,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $126,622,000 after purchasing an additional 32,273 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% in the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 15.7 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $142.58 on Thursday. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a PE ratio of 70.24, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. 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 50 day simple moving average of $160.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. JMP Securities upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.07.

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.