Blue Whale Capital LLP Takes $22.37 Million Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Blue Whale Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 143,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $22,373,000. Ares Management makes up 1.7% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total value of $8,092,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total transaction of $10,728,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 613,326 shares of company stock valued at $96,606,744 over the last three months. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARES. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $175.52 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $163.69 and its 200 day moving average is $149.29. 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 capitalization of $54.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $107.69 and a fifty-two week high of $176.83.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. 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.