Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,140 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,718 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total transaction of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,833,750. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,727,419.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total transaction of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,833,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,488,844 shares of company stock valued at $200,239,222. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ARES shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $154.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.15.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.9 %

Ares Management stock traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $146.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 615,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $45.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.99. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $82.89 and a 12 month high of $150.12.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 166.82%.

About Ares Management

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.