Avestar Capital LLC Takes $550,000 Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 1.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $184.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.70 billion, a PE ratio of 90.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 15,763 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total value of $2,636,204.12. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 214,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,820,968.36. This trade represents a 6.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 573,181 shares of company stock worth $101,459,161 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

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.