Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 3,414 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,206 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,414 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $11,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $258,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $170.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.38. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.86 and its 200-day moving average is $167.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 263.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer lowered Ares Management from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.94.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.37, for a total value of $6,774,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 85,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,396,450. This trade represents a 32.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total value of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 350,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,640,827.88. This represents a 34.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 898,990 shares of company stock valued at $148,835,332 over the last ninety days. 36.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.