Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stake Cut by Lone Pine Capital LLC

Lone Pine Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,677,043 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 374,773 shares during the period. Ares Management comprises approximately 2.2% of Lone Pine Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Ares Management worth $296,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4,557.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $230,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276,743 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JMP Securities raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Ares Management stock traded up $5.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $157.46. 1,942,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,397,846. The company has a market capitalization of $49.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $146.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.70. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

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.