Ashish Bhutani Purchases 10,000 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock traded down $6.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $139.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,894,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,211,960. The firm has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a PE ratio of 68.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 12 month low of $125.23 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $179.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.84.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,903,741,000 after purchasing an additional 223,919 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,465,433,000 after acquiring an additional 33,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,258,519,000 after acquiring an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ares Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $907,534,000 after acquiring an additional 66,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.03% 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.