Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings 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. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 29,198 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total transaction of $5,133,592.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 85,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,079,905.58. The trade was a 25.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 392,200 shares of company stock valued at $70,426,505 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARES. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $174.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $184.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.71, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. 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 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

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.