PAX Financial Group LLC Has $628,000 Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

PAX Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $117.54 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 has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $113.24 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.09.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.38.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last three months. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

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.