Bridges Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,974 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Ares Management by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.3 %

ARES opened at $170.93 on Monday. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The company 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.73.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 214,571 shares of company stock worth $39,165,379. 1.20% of the stock is currently 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.