Cynosure Group LLC Sells 1,886 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Cynosure Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,140 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,886 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $444,103,000 after buying an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 181.7% in the 3rd 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 raised its position in Ares Management by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,471,000 after buying an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $149.47 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $47.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $170.27 and a 200 day moving average of $170.70.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

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.