Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 39.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 973,201 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 275,880 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $115,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 29,200.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $132.63. 1,315,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,324,976. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $90.29 and a 1-year high of $150.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.55 and its 200 day moving average is $129.07. The company has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The company had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $154.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.29.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total transaction of $6,486,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total transaction of $6,486,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy D. Olian sold 3,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.00, for a total value of $457,878.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,659,808. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,564,673 shares of company stock worth $211,998,778 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% 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.