Nuveen Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 385,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,451 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $68,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 435,103 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,807,000 after buying an additional 129,611 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $170.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.60. 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 Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on shares of Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.50.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 250,180 shares of company stock worth $39,411,066. Insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

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.