Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 443,582 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 215,021 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.14% of Ares Management worth $78,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 4,557.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $230,981,000 after buying an additional 1,276,743 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $173.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,291,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,570. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a PE ratio of 85.29, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. 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 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The company's 50-day moving average is $146.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 263.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARES. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,180 shares of company stock valued at $39,411,066. Insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

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.