Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target to $207.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $212.00 to $207.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.92.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $188.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $58.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $176.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.59. Ares Management has a 1-year low of $112.83 and a 1-year high of $190.15.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 574,167 shares of company stock worth $99,996,647. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Ares Management by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,746 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.