Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 451,947 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 17,429 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.14% of Ares Management worth $80,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ARES stock opened at $152.90 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.32, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $147.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.92. 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 (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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