Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $17.82 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,485 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 17,155 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $17,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ARES shares. JMP Securities upgraded 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.1 %

ARES stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $152.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,722,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,399,835. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.92. The company has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.20, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

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.