Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Director Acquires $1,413,300.00 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $144.10 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $45.45 billion, a PE ratio of 70.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ARES. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $106,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,858,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.