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

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,000,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 54,656 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Ares Management worth $177,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $907,534,000 after buying an additional 66,671 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,318,000 after buying an additional 187,184 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $600,830,000 after buying an additional 18,773 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Down 10.0 %

Ares Management stock opened at $117.54 on Monday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $108.69 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $166.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.33. 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 (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. 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 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.38.

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.