Signet Financial Management LLC Trims Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Signet Financial Management LLC cut its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 210.5% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 354 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 300.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 400 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 114,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.97, for a total value of $15,109,509.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 22,115 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.84, for a total value of $2,893,526.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 188,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,702,199.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 114,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.97, for a total value of $15,109,509.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,300,871 shares of company stock valued at $173,683,187 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 47.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE ARES traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $129.60. The stock had a trading volume of 445,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,017,933. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $77.97 and a 12 month high of $139.48. The company has a market capitalization of $40.12 billion, a PE ratio of 53.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.17.

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.