Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,415 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $6,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of Ares Management 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 sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $147.11 on Tuesday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $125.23 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a PE ratio of 72.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $177.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 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 paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ARES. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

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.