Incline Global Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Incline Global Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,963 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 27,811 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up approximately 4.7% of Incline Global Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Incline Global Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $14,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ARES. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $176.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.50.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.9 %

ARES stock traded up $4.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,787,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,785. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $96.00 and a 52 week high of $152.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.88. The stock has a market cap of $46.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.09, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 166.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 110,341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.35, for a total transaction of $15,486,359.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,601,140.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 702,930 shares of company stock valued at $97,948,044. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.