Raymond James & Associates Reduces Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 366,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 36,900 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.12% of Ares Management worth $48,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,499,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 27.4% in 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 period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $93,682,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 216.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,253,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $149,083,000 after buying an additional 857,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 91.2% in the 3rd quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,464,266 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $150,629,000 after buying an additional 698,246 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,004,636.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at $12,727,419.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock valued at $199,049,946 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of ARES traded down $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,085,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,762. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $77.97 and a 52 week high of $139.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $133.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $40.84 billion, a PE ratio of 59.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.17.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 166.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.92.

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.