Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock Position Raised by Wrapmanager Inc.

Wrapmanager Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,870 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Ares Management by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 866 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $2,818,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $248,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 80,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,272,000 after purchasing an additional 26,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ARES stock opened at $167.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted 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 predict 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,633,467.94. The trade was a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 214,571 shares of company stock worth $39,165,379. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.