Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,196 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 6.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,476 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Ares Management by 31.2% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 134.1% in the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $155.11 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.41, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Friday, December 20th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 238,068 shares of company stock worth $40,998,846. 1.20% of the stock is owned by 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.