Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,266 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $15,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 199.7% in the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,658,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $221,007,000 after buying an additional 3,321,434 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the first quarter worth approximately $264,729,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,499,000. M&G Plc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 711.1% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 1,015,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $134,996,000 after buying an additional 889,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 216.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,253,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $149,083,000 after buying an additional 857,245 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. 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 note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $16,492,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 545,093 shares of company stock valued at $74,553,444 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ARES stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $145.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,067,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,072. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a PE ratio of 65.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.19 and its 200 day moving average is $136.78. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $155.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 12.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 166.82%.

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.