Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Sells 79 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,809 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 110,796.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 99,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,869,000 after acquiring an additional 99,717 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Ares Management by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 43,540 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $334,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $534,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $138.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a PE ratio of 62.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.32. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $80.07 and a 1 year high of $140.35.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 166.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total value of $11,299,170.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,245,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,004,636.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total value of $11,299,170.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,245,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,004,636.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 143,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.51, for a total value of $18,880,759.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.08.

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.