Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys Shares of 13,698 Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,425,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $106,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Ares Management by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 134.1% in the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 633,100 shares of company stock valued at $111,492,196. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ARES opened at $189.90 on Tuesday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $125.23 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.68 and a 200-day moving average of $165.88. The firm has a market cap of $59.45 billion, a PE ratio of 93.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management 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.