Avanza Fonder AB Invests $2.48 Million in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 9,432 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $486,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $3,210,874.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 254,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,650,754.30. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.92.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.0 %

ARES stock opened at $191.69 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $112.83 and a twelve month high of $192.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.01 billion, a PE ratio of 88.34, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

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.