Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 97 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,393 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.08.

Ares Management Trading Down 3.6 %

ARES stock opened at $190.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.64, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $179.76 and its 200 day moving average is $162.53. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $119.76 and a 12-month high of $197.53. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $3,210,874.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 254,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,650,754.30. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.