Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 2,545 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 32.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,469 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,545 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Ares Management by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 392,200 shares of company stock valued at $70,426,505 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $179.90 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a PE ratio of 88.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.94.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

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.