BNP Paribas Financial Markets Decreases Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 107,471 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 13,751 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Ares Management were worth $19,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Ares Management by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,903,741,000 after buying an additional 223,919 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,465,433,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,258,519,000 after acquiring an additional 807,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $907,534,000 after acquiring an additional 66,671 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock traded down $5.65 on Thursday, reaching $170.19. 1,418,963 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,775,517. 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 twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $147.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.62. The stock has a market cap of $53.68 billion, a PE ratio of 83.79, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,180 shares of company stock valued at $39,411,066 over the last 90 days. 36.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer lowered Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

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.