Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES – Get Rating) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 196,198 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $11,156,000. Gradient Investments LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ares Management as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,801,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,283,537,000 after purchasing an additional 430,412 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,038,275 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,140,328,000 after purchasing an additional 458,646 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,191,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $502,895,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.1% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,405,667 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $276,642,000 after purchasing an additional 133,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,747,871 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $223,210,000 after purchasing an additional 846,923 shares during the last quarter. 48.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Ares Management Stock Down 2.0 %
Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $74.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.86, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.60. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $53.15 and a 52-week high of $90.08.
Ares Management (NYSE:ARES – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $618.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.30 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 8.23%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.
Ares Management Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 16th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 156.41%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages have weighed in on ARES. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 1st. JMP Securities began coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 8th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, August 31st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $89.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $87.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.
Insider Activity at Ares Management
In related news, General Counsel Aghili Naseem Sagati sold 7,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.18, for a total value of $544,898.28. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 218,082 shares in the company, valued at $15,959,240.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 47.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Ares Management 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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ARES? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES – Get Rating).
Receive News & Ratings for Ares Management Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Ares Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
