Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 1,298,121 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 7% from the previous session’s volume of 1,216,245 shares.The stock last traded at $153.31 and had previously closed at $153.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.83.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.5 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 4,557.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $230,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276,743 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after buying an additional 807,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% 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.