Assetmark Inc. Increases Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,834 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,325 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $8,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Ares Management by 15.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,924 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 12,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,882 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,254,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $155.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $48.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.41, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $182.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.91. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 2.89%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,633,467.94. The trade was a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 238,068 shares of company stock valued at $40,998,846 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

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.