Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 6,990 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 413,353 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,990 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $73,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $982,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,851 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $459,580,000 after purchasing an additional 175,627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ARES stock opened at $190.36 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.73. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ARES shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 554,167 shares of company stock valued at $96,493,348. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.