Vontobel Holding Ltd. Increases Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,452 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $179.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $185.17 and its 200 day moving average is $167.94. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. 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 (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 29,292 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total value of $5,150,119.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,280,340.38. This trade represents a 25.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 392,200 shares of company stock worth $70,426,505. Company 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.