Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,407 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,842,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $126,622,000 after buying an additional 32,273 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $749,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARES. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JMP Securities raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.00.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $152.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 542,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,778,760. 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 capitalization of $48.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.17, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $149.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.08. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value 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 represents a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % 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 worth $54,409,915 over the last three months. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.