Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 67.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $29,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $39,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter valued at $78,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $93,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $178.63 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $112.83 and a 52 week high of $185.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $174.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ARES shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $176.00 to $212.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.33.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 304,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 614,167 shares of company stock worth $106,716,247 over the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.