Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $185.19 and last traded at $184.53, with a volume of 378573 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $179.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.92.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $176.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total value of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 614,167 shares of company stock worth $106,716,247. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 2.3% during 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 period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 2.6% during the fourth 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. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.