Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,645 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 501 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of ARES stock opened at $154.45 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $48.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $169.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.58.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 in the last three months. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. JMP Securities reissued 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.