Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $6,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the 4th 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. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $168.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a PE ratio of 83.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 30,465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.16, for a total transaction of $5,366,714.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,220,000. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 304,823 shares of company stock valued at $55,063,881 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Company 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.