Certior Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 2,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Ares Management by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Trading Down 10.0 %

Shares of ARES opened at $117.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $166.59 and a 200 day moving average of $170.33. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $108.69 and a 1-year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last ninety days. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.38.

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.