Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Has $3.53 Million Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,939 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,926 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 53.4% in 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 in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.9 %

ARES opened at $167.36 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $125.23 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.43 and a 200-day moving average of $169.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,633,467.94. The trade was a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 214,571 shares of company stock worth $39,165,379 over the last three months. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Company 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.