Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 15,761 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 138,355 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 15,761 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $25,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth about $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $126,622,000 after buying an additional 32,273 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $145.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.66. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a PE ratio of 71.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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%. Analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Ares Management 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.