Secure Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,582 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $877,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 32,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,694 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARES. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.82.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.11, for a total transaction of $2,024,554.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 125,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,263,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,659 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.11, for a total value of $2,024,554.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 125,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,263,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 110,341 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.35, for a total value of $15,486,359.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,601,140.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 704,477 shares of company stock valued at $97,659,456 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $3.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $147.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,165,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,590. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $96.00 and a 12 month high of $155.53. The company has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a PE ratio of 65.92, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $141.15 and its 200 day moving average is $137.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Ares Management Company 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.