BayBridge Capital Group LLC Sells 313 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

BayBridge Capital Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,688 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Ares Management by 1,572.7% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $190.36 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.35. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.04 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 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 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 555,838 shares of company stock valued at $96,785,773. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.