Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Position Increased by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC increased its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $131.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a PE ratio of 55.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.10 and a 200-day moving average of $121.40. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $77.97 and a 52-week 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.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.92.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,004,636.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,833,750. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $11,299,170.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,004,636.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.