Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,532 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,480 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ares Management by 67.0% during 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 period. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 53.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Ares Management by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.40.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $138.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.64 billion, a PE ratio of 68.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.93. 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 (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

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.