Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 618 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,933 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 214,571 shares of company stock worth $39,165,379. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $161.02 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.32, 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $183.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.01.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ARES. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

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.