Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $810,000 Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 71.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,574 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 4,557.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $230,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276,743 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% during the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. 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. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.00.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock traded up $6.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $158.88. 695,145 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,757,402. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $147.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.74. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.11 billion, a PE ratio of 78.22, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. 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. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.