Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Decreases Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,805 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $1,100,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,705,000 after buying an additional 4,996 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2,695.3% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 70,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,364,000 after purchasing an additional 67,895 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 397,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $52,831,000 after buying an additional 59,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter valued at about $3,434,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total transaction of $1,421,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at $63,485,288.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total transaction of $1,421,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 446,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,485,288.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 75,000 shares in the company, valued at $10,699,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 604,316 shares of company stock valued at $87,718,000. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $156.14 on Tuesday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.46. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $96.00 and a 12 month high of $158.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.02, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The company had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.42.

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.