Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after buying an additional 206,996 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Ares Management by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,933 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 49.4% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $376,191,000 after purchasing an additional 933,664 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $308,754,000 after purchasing an additional 453,657 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,171,188 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $289,376,000 after purchasing an additional 603,676 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,958,145.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 222,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,459,354.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,276,239.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 622,640 shares of company stock valued at $91,378,848. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.6 %

ARES opened at $167.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.53. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $96.00 and a 1-year high of $171.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released 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. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The business had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 166.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ares Management from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Management from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.18.

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.