Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $11,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of ARES opened at $139.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.85, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $179.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.84. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price target 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. 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 raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.