Norges Bank Buys Shares of 2,154,240 Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,154,240 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $381,365,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Ares Management by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 94,093 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,657,000 after purchasing an additional 17,880 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 16,649 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 138,355 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,057,000 after buying an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Ares Management by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 137,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,327,000 after buying an additional 45,400 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $145.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.46. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.46, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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%. Analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the business’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 value of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

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.