Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $171.78 and last traded at $170.81, with a volume of 39276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ares Management from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.18.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Ares Management

Ares Management Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.69. The firm has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a PE ratio of 76.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 166.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 27,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,942,995.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 222,932 shares in the company, valued at $32,474,504.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 27,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,942,995.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 222,932 shares in the company, valued at $32,474,504.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,958,145.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 222,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,459,354.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 622,640 shares of company stock worth $91,378,848. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after acquiring an additional 206,996 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ares Management by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,933 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $376,191,000 after purchasing an additional 933,664 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $308,754,000 after purchasing an additional 453,657 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,171,188 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $289,376,000 after purchasing an additional 603,676 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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