Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock Holdings Increased by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 50.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,610 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,360 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $8,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 27.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,836,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,866 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $93,682,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 91.2% during the third quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,464,266 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $150,629,000 after purchasing an additional 698,246 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 53.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,461,097 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $150,303,000 after purchasing an additional 506,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,559,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES traded up $4.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.54. 671,349 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,020,894. The company has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.13, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.38. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $77.97 and a fifty-two week high of $139.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total value of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,833,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 80,637 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $10,906,154.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,116,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,030,429. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total value of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,833,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock valued at $199,049,946. 47.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.17.

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.