Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 501 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,645 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 501 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth 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 period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last 90 days. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $154.45 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $48.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.49 and its 200 day moving average is $170.58. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. 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 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.