Clarity Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Clarity Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,294 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Ares Management by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $182.70 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.00, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at $38,495,125.76. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 633,100 shares of company stock worth $111,492,196 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management 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.