Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Boosts Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,432 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 6.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after buying an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 134.1% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $191.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $112.83 and a 52 week high of $192.01.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $3,210,874.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 254,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,650,754.30. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 574,167 shares of company stock worth $99,996,647 in the last three months. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.