DSM Capital Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

DSM Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during 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 during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in 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 period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective 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 boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 18,232 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.54, for a total value of $3,200,445.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,397,923.54. The trade was a 13.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 447,080 shares of company stock valued at $80,060,323. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $187.32 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $58.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $184.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.47.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

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.