Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,488,996 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 189,181 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.11% of Ares Management worth $617,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,330 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,290,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $228,500,000 after buying an additional 306,181 shares during the period. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $968,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Ares Management by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 121,443 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $21,499,000 after acquiring an additional 12,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $146.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $46.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price target 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

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.