Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,666 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,772 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $14,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Ares Management by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,903,741,000 after purchasing an additional 223,919 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ares Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $907,534,000 after purchasing an additional 66,671 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.94.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 942,680 shares of company stock valued at $155,477,123. Insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $160.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.06, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 263.53%.

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.