Cetera Investment Advisers Lowers Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,583 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 11,079 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Ares Management were worth $10,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ARES. JMP Securities upped their price target on Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. This trade represents a 69.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,180 shares of company stock worth $39,411,066 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.6%

Ares Management stock opened at $164.93 on Monday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $110.63 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.02 billion, a PE ratio of 81.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $146.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.51.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

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.

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