Fred Alger Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 67.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,385 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $13,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the second 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. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.66, for a total value of $3,791,760.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 75,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,699,500. The trade was a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 602,357 shares of company stock valued at $97,672,269 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $176.93 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $107.69 and a 12 month high of $180.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $165.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.39 billion, a PE ratio of 81.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 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.