Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Purchased by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,144 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $41,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of ARES stock opened at $153.81 on Tuesday. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a PE ratio of 75.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

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.