Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 1,112 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 62.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,886 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $155.11 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.09. The stock has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.41, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 2.89%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 238,068 shares of company stock worth $40,998,846. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Company 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.