National Wealth Management Group LLC Sells 2,666 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

National Wealth Management Group LLC reduced its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,484 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,666 shares during the quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 80.4% during the second quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.63, for a total transaction of $2,116,877.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 14,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.62, for a total value of $2,178,766.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,227,500. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 631,855 shares of company stock valued at $101,967,913. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $174.78 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $165.19 and its 200-day moving average is $149.96. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 80.54, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $107.69 and a 52 week high of $180.38.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

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.