Morse Asset Management Inc Purchases 390 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,940 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 32,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,276,239.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,276,239.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 604,316 shares of company stock worth $87,718,000 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ARES opened at $156.66 on Monday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $157.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $145.02 and its 200 day moving average is $139.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.54 billion, a PE ratio of 70.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

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

Ares Management Company 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.