Avitas Wealth Management LLC Sells 61 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,228 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 1,572.7% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $189.71 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $124.11 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.42, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ARES. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Management from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at $44,312,450. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total value of $2,646,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 555,838 shares of company stock valued at $96,785,773 over the last three months. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.