Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. Sells 83,594 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. decreased its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,215 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 83,594 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up approximately 2.5% of Keystone Investors PTE Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $35,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARES. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays dropped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $153.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.89 and a 200-day moving average of $170.35. 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 (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 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.