Axa S.A. Has $1.65 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Axa S.A. raised its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 64.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,312 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,644 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARES. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 250,180 shares of company stock worth $39,411,066. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $165.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.33 and a 200-day moving average of $167.55. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $52.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.75, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Ares Management Company 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.