AIA Group Ltd Grows Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 47.4% during the 4th 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. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 647 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Impact Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 175,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.56, for a total transaction of $23,393,301.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,727,419.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,350,871 shares of company stock valued at $180,169,187. Company insiders own 47.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.17.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded down $1.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $130.70. The company had a trading volume of 694,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,815. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.46 and its 200 day moving average is $119.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.46 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $77.97 and a twelve month high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.71 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 155.65%.

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.