Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,373 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 23.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,086,000 after purchasing an additional 8,666 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,109 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after acquiring an additional 206,996 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 20.0% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,488 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 118.2% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 15,704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.09, for a total value of $2,262,789.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 156,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,482,506.79. This represents a 9.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 530,453 shares of company stock valued at $78,577,065 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $167.50 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $52.44 billion, a PE ratio of 77.19, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $105.89 and a one year high of $175.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $160.74 and a 200 day moving average of $148.01.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. 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.