Nemes Rush Group LLC Acquires 841 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 282.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 15.6% in 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 boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,290,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $228,500,000 after buying an additional 306,181 shares during the last quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 34.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $968,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $149.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.14 billion, a PE ratio of 73.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.70. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $125.23 and a 1-year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.83.

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.