Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 57,207 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $10,127,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Ares Management by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,903,741,000 after buying an additional 223,919 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,258,519,000 after buying an additional 807,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $907,534,000 after acquiring an additional 66,671 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded down $7.20 on Thursday, reaching $168.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,115,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,957. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The stock's 50-day moving average is $147.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.07, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARES. Barclays raised their target price on Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. The trade was a 69.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,180 shares of company stock worth $39,411,066 in the last three months. 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.