Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,876 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $14,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $982,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,851 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ares Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,318,000 after buying an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 0.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $600,830,000 after buying an additional 18,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $459,580,000 after buying an additional 175,627 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ARES opened at $197.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.79 billion, a PE ratio of 90.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.74. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $117.47 and a 1 year high of $197.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.92.

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.