Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Position Reduced by Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 43.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,903 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $144,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $807,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last ninety days. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $117.54 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $166.59 and its 200-day moving average is $170.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $113.24 and a one year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase 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 3.81%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.38.

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.