Schroder Investment Management Group Cuts Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Schroder Investment Management Group lessened its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,844 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,376 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $968,000. DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 121,443 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $21,499,000 after acquiring an additional 12,089 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 80,596 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,268,000 after purchasing an additional 6,084 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,365,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Ares Management by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 94,093 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,657,000 after purchasing an additional 17,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 10.0 %

Shares of ARES opened at $117.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $166.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.21. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $113.24 and a 12 month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly 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%. Analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. 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

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average 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.