Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 31.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after buying an additional 678,549 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 181.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,471,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,457,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. Barclays lowered 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. 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 decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.83.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.1 %

Ares Management stock opened at $146.56 on Tuesday. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $171.18 and its 200 day moving average is $170.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.23 billion, a PE ratio of 72.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 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.