Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Bought by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 10.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 13.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,957 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 2,533.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 948 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $186.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 91.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.65 and a 200-day moving average of $167.21. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $4,508,196.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 167,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,627,287.30. This trade represents a 13.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.16, for a total transaction of $4,423,287.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,705,414.76. This represents a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 525,777 shares of company stock worth $93,531,158. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

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.