Maven Securities LTD Decreases Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Maven Securities LTD lessened its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,500 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD's holdings in Ares Management were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,180 shares of company stock worth $39,411,066 over the last three months. Company insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.50.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,700,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,520. 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 stock has a market cap of $55.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.60.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 263.53%.

About Ares Management

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.