Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $2.54 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,364 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,542,000 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $106,436,000 after buying an additional 36,476 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $170.93 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $184.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.35. The firm has a market cap of $53.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.20, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18.

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, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 214,571 shares of company stock valued at $39,165,379 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

Ares Management Company 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.