Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $6.31 Million Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $6,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Ares Management by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 4.2 %

ARES stock opened at $139.77 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.85, a P/E/G 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $179.36 and a 200-day moving average of $169.84.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. 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 3.21%. Ares Management’s dividend 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.