Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Earns Market Perform Rating from JMP Securities

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by investment analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

ARES has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.7 %

ARES opened at $190.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.72, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management has a one year low of $125.23 and a one year high of $200.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $183.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.35.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. Analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,476 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.