Versant Capital Management Inc Acquires 65 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 67.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Ares Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $176.00 to $212.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.33.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.9 %

Ares Management stock opened at $178.63 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $112.83 and a 12-month high of $185.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.69 and a 200 day moving average of $157.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at $51,102,893.98. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 614,167 shares of company stock valued at $106,716,247. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management 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.