Boothbay Fund Management LLC Buys Shares of 4,172 Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,172 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $739,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,329,530,000 after buying an additional 907,757 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,903,741,000 after purchasing an additional 223,919 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 purchasing an additional 66,671 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE ARES opened at $152.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 75.32, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.84 and a 200-day moving average of $167.92. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. 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. Ares Management's payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ARES shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $165.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value 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 trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

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.

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