Inceptionr LLC Acquires 992 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Inceptionr LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,351 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $335,858,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $444,103,000 after acquiring an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 26.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $229,056,000 after acquiring an additional 280,656 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Ares Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after acquiring an additional 187,184 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 214,571 shares of company stock valued at $39,165,379 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ARES opened at $162.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.25, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.96.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

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.