Gradient Investments LLC lessened its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,188 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 15,356 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $16,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,392,349 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,949,378,000 after purchasing an additional 631,334 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 27.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,836,590 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $600,410,000 after buying an additional 1,255,866 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $460,525,000 after acquiring an additional 71,819 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,644,429 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $272,033,000 after acquiring an additional 78,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $205,499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Ares Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.92.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ARES
Insider Activity
In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total value of $11,299,170.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,245,729 shares in the company, valued at $170,004,636.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total value of $11,299,170.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares in the company, valued at $170,004,636.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Ares Management Stock Performance
ARES stock traded down $2.73 on Friday, reaching $131.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,085,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,762. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $77.97 and a 52 week high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $40.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.64.
Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.63%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ares Management Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 166.82%.
About Ares Management
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Ares Management, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Ares Management wasn't on the list.
While Ares Management currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking to avoid the hassle of mudslinging, volatility, and uncertainty? You'd need to be out of the market, which isn’t viable. So where should investors put their money? Find out with this report.
Get This Free Report
