Affinity Wealth Management LLC Sells 195 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Affinity Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,232 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 32.5% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,705,000 after buying an additional 4,996 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 2,695.3% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 70,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,364,000 after purchasing an additional 67,895 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 17.7% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 397,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $52,831,000 after purchasing an additional 59,668 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,434,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 24.6% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 192,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,674,000 after buying an additional 38,047 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $162.76. 89,513 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,873. The company has a market capitalization of $50.43 billion, a PE ratio of 72.62, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $96.00 and a 12-month high of $163.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. The business had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total value of $3,201,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 344,202 shares in the company, valued at $55,096,414.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total value of $3,201,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 344,202 shares in the company, valued at $55,096,414.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,958,145.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 222,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,459,354.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 624,316 shares of company stock valued at $90,919,400 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.