Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires 8,121 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,235 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,121 shares during the period. Ares Management comprises about 0.4% of Edgestream Partners L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $9,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 43.0% in the fourth 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 period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This trade represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 238,068 shares of company stock worth $40,998,846 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $152.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 75.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $182.70 and a 200-day moving average of $169.84. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49.

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%. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.