Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 891 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,705,414.76. The trade was a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 525,777 shares of company stock worth $93,531,158 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $186.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 91.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARES. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

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.