Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,415 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $6,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $147.11 on Tuesday. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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 reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.