Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 1,765,726 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,379,905 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,765,726 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,722,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Ares Management by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $126,622,000 after purchasing an additional 32,273 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Ares Management by 134.1% in the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Management Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $145.07 on Monday. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $45.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.46, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $172.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. 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. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARES. 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. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

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.