Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Price

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $224.00 to $217.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $191.33 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.17. The firm has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 19,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.45, for a total transaction of $3,311,323.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 230,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,551,176.25. This represents a 7.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,312,450. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,476 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Ares Management by 134.1% in the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.