4,781 Shares in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Purchased by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,781 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $745,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $273,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 137.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,987 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after purchasing an additional 6,930 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $329,000. Finally, Paragon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.2% in the third quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 14,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 18,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.55, for a total value of $3,205,367.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,424,891.40. This represents a 13.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of Ares Management 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 directly owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 651,628 shares of company stock worth $102,226,989. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ARES. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock opened at $175.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $107.69 and a one year high of $176.83. The firm has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.88, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

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.