Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $7,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $335,858,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $229,056,000 after purchasing an additional 280,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

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

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $147.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.88 and its 200 day moving average is $169.85. The firm has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.83.

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.