Axa S.A. Takes Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Axa S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Ares Management by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 40,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,764,000 after buying an additional 14,683 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 23,747 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,701 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Ares Management by 55.2% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 93,586 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,129,000 after purchasing an additional 33,283 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 29,200.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.85.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $156.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.45. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $96.00 and a one year high of $159.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

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

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.