Everhart Financial Group Inc. Acquires 322 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,462 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 26.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $229,056,000 after purchasing an additional 280,656 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 valued at $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $459,580,000 after purchasing an additional 175,627 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,633,467.94. The trade was a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 15,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,636,204.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 214,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,820,968.36. This trade represents a 6.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 573,181 shares of company stock valued at $101,459,161. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $186.11 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.11. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 91.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

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.