Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,568 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $186.11 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.68, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.70.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 573,181 shares of company stock valued at $101,459,161 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.