Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT Acquires 534 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the quarter. Ares Management accounts for about 1.2% of Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 5,199 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 29,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 6.8% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 9,567 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth $798,000. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 5.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 22,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 80,637 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $10,906,154.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,116,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,030,429. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 80,637 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $10,906,154.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,116,676 shares in the company, valued at $151,030,429. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 143,569 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.51, for a total transaction of $18,880,759.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946. 47.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.62. 501,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,089,258. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $77.97 and a 1 year high of $139.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.17.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.71 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.93 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.65%.

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.