New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,848 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $17,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,225 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 1,544.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 392,200 shares of company stock worth $70,426,505. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 3.2 %

ARES opened at $174.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.30. 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 one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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%. Analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Ares Management 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.