Golden State Equity Partners Acquires 603 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Ares Management were worth $725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $198.19 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $119.76 and a 52 week high of $199.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $182.03 and its 200 day moving average is $164.16. The firm has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $224.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.08.

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.