IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $4.40 Million Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,115 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $4,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 22,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.86, for a total transaction of $2,892,398.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 73,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,681,284.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946 over the last ninety days. 47.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $133.62. 501,218 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,089,258. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $77.97 and a one year high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.37 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.74.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 155.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ARES shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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 target price of $126.17.

Ares Management Profile

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.