Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,206 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,414 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Ares Management were worth $11,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 125.6% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $167.04. 750,273 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,429,140. The stock has a market cap of $54.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.29, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.97. 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.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 263.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.94.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $14,347,150.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 983,990 shares of company stock worth $163,182,482 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

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.