Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,123 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,916 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% during the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 29,200.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Ares Management by 717.6% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 278 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ARES shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.42.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $156.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.29. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $157.53. The firm has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 166.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.40, for a total value of $1,930,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 376,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,162,788.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.40, for a total transaction of $1,930,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 376,702 shares in the company, valued at $58,162,788.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 604,316 shares of company stock worth $87,718,000. Insiders own 1.20% 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.