Procyon Advisors LLC Purchases 932 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th 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. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease 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 Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at $44,312,450. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 574,167 shares of company stock worth $99,996,647. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.0 %

ARES opened at $191.69 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.35. The company has a market capitalization of $60.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.34, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $112.83 and a 52 week high of $192.01.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ARES. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.92.

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.