Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Receives “Market Perform” Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $191.33 on Thursday. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $183.08 and its 200-day moving average is $165.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a PE ratio of 88.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. Equities analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ares Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after buying an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Ares Management by 134.1% in the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.