Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,791 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $10,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 717.6% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 278 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Ares Management from $148.00 to $146.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.00.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $172.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $157.04 and a 200 day moving average of $146.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $101.44 and a 52 week high of $175.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total value of $8,092,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 622,640 shares of company stock worth $91,378,848. Corporate insiders own 41.89% 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.