Park Place Capital Corp Purchases 1,186 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 35.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,514 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the quarter. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,746 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,802,571.96. This trade represents a 6.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total transaction of $3,210,874.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 254,885 shares in the company, valued at $44,650,754.30. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647 over the last ninety days. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.92.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $194.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.28. The company has a market cap of $60.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.56, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $116.86 and a one year high of $196.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for 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 period last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

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.