Bfsg LLC Has $1.07 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Bfsg LLC cut its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,968 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,836,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,866 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $93,682,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 91.2% during the third quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,464,266 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $150,629,000 after purchasing an additional 698,246 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,461,097 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $150,303,000 after purchasing an additional 506,935 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at $39,559,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $135.95. 1,123,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,022,197. The firm has a market cap of $42.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.13, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $77.97 and a twelve month high of $139.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 155.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 80,637 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $10,906,154.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,116,676 shares in the company, valued at $151,030,429. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 47.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned 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 price target of $126.17.

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.