Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 80.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% during 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 period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.8 %

ARES stock opened at $197.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $179.15 and a 200 day moving average of $161.74. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $117.47 and a twelve month high of $197.53. The firm has a market cap of $61.79 billion, a PE ratio of 90.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.92.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,356,837.12. Following the sale, the chairman now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,312,450. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.