Raymond James & Associates Has $47.93 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 403,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 19,511 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.13% of Ares Management worth $47,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 210.5% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 354 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 300.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 400 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.5 %

ARES opened at $133.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $77.97 and a twelve month high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.56.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 155.65%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total value of $11,299,170.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,245,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,004,636.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,245,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,004,636.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total transaction of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,833,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 494,429 shares of company stock worth $66,106,355. Insiders own 47.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.45.

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.