Quotient Wealth Partners LLC Sells 75 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Quotient Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,206 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $769,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $554,000. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 43,934 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,778,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 554,167 shares of company stock valued at $96,493,348. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $190.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.68 and a 200-day moving average of $165.73. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (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 forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. 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. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

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.