Argent Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Argent Trust Co lessened its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after acquiring an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $907,534,000 after buying an additional 66,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $600,830,000 after acquiring an additional 18,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $135.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 66.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.11. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given 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 3.30%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.07.

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.