Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 8,320 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. decreased its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 183,983 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,320 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $32,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter worth $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ARES opened at $190.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.62. 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend 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 is 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 19,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.45, for a total transaction of $3,311,323.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 230,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,551,176.25. The trade was a 7.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.