Personal CFO Solutions LLC Decreases Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,954 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE ARES opened at $155.11 on Monday. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $182.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.27. The stock has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,625 shares of company stock valued at $40,018,344 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management 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.