Williamson Legacy Group LLC Increases Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Williamson Legacy Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,294 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,929 shares during the period. Ares Management accounts for about 1.5% of Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 214,571 shares of company stock valued at $39,165,379 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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 decreased their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE ARES opened at $170.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $184.25 and its 200-day moving average is $169.35. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49.

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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

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.