Lindbrook Capital LLC Boosts Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 519 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $92,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $335,858,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after acquiring an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $229,056,000 after acquiring an additional 280,656 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 187,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 238,068 shares of company stock valued at $40,998,846. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $155.11 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $125.23 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $48.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $182.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.91.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

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.