Hilton Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Hilton Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 76,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 12,145 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up 1.2% of Hilton Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $13,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Renasant Bank grew its position in Ares Management by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 4,313 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 7,730 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,991,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,622 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,067,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 59,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,709,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total value of $11,239,947.09. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,052.91. This trade represents a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $139.77 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.84. The stock has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a PE ratio of 68.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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%. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.