10,789 Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Purchased by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,789 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,283,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $136.54 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $133.15 and a 200 day moving average of $120.38. The company has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.13, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $77.97 and a 1-year high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 155.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 4,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total value of $601,436.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at $184,263,750. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total transaction of $9,917,567.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,833,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 4,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total value of $601,436.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at $184,263,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946. 47.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ARES shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.17.

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.