EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Ares Management by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $144.10 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $178.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.82. The company has a market capitalization of $45.45 billion, a PE ratio of 70.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

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.