Nemes Rush Group LLC Boosts Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 282.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 6,525 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,471,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Ares Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,457,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 in the last quarter. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $149.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $47.14 billion, a PE ratio of 73.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $170.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current 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 $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

About Ares Management

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.