Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 321,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,426 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $56,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 181.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,525 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,471,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Ares Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,457,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $149.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.70. 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 company has a market cap of $47.14 billion, a PE ratio of 73.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

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.