Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $2 Million Investment in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the first quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total transaction of $23,394,600.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,660,399.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total value of $23,394,600.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,660,399.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 702,930 shares of company stock worth $97,948,044 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $145.30. 1,055,976 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,146,308. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $139.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.95. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $96.00 and a 12 month high of $152.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.07, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The company had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 166.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $176.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.33.

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.