Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $2.43 Million in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 13,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,425,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $982,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,851 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $459,580,000 after purchasing an additional 175,627 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,356,837.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 229,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,503,162.88. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 633,100 shares of company stock worth $111,492,196 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $189.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a PE ratio of 93.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $183.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.88. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

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.