Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 96.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,735 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 75,390 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARES. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake 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. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 10.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 7.2% during the second quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 108 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 research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Management from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.66, for a total transaction of $3,791,760.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,699,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total value of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 622,640 shares of company stock worth $91,378,848 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $161.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a PE ratio of 84.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.55. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $101.44 and a 1-year high of $171.78.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 193.75%.

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.