Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 4,000 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $10,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $53,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the first quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ARES shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total value of $2,646,573.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 590,579 shares of company stock valued at $89,737,173 over the last ninety days. 41.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $171.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $53.81 billion, a PE ratio of 79.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $105.89 and a 12 month high of $175.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

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.