Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,950 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $444,103,000 after buying an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $460,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,798,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Ares Management by 4.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. JMP Securities raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced 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 report on Friday, April 4th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.80.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $122.94 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $162.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.