33,843 Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Purchased by JPL Wealth Management LLC

JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 33,843 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $5,991,000. Ares Management accounts for 1.7% of JPL Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $982,058,000 after buying an additional 63,851 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,201,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $566,826,000 after purchasing an additional 352,126 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. The trade was a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $145.58 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $45.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.71, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

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.