8,461 Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Acquired by Donoghue Forlines LLC

Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,498,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $195.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $178.62 and a 200 day moving average of $161.51. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $116.86 and a 52 week high of $196.76.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.92.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,356,837.12. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 229,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,503,162.88. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.