KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 62,900 Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 62,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $11,135,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $153.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.35. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a PE ratio of 75.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.