abrdn plc Buys New Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

abrdn plc purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 80,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $10,906,154.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,116,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,030,429. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total value of $9,917,567.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,833,750. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 80,637 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $10,906,154.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,116,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,030,429. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock valued at $199,049,946. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $133.01 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $77.97 and a 52-week high of $139.48. The stock has a market cap of $41.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.65, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $133.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.