JPL Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 33,843 Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,843 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $5,991,000. Ares Management makes up 1.7% of JPL Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake 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. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Ares Management by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $145.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $45.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. The trade was a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

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.