Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Position Lowered by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,488,996 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 189,181 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $617,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position 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. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

ARES opened at $146.56 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $171.18 and its 200-day moving average is $170.68. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $46.23 billion, a PE ratio of 72.20, 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 quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued 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, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.83.

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.