Lone Pine Capital LLC Takes Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,574,763 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $209,884,000. Ares Management accounts for 1.7% of Lone Pine Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned 0.51% of Ares Management at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,100,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,705,000 after purchasing an additional 4,996 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 2,695.3% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 70,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,364,000 after buying an additional 67,895 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 17.7% in the first 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 institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ARES. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. UBS Group cut 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. Barclays increased their price target on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.42.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $157.29 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $158.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.40 and a 200 day moving average of $139.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.53, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 10,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.46, for a total transaction of $1,466,846.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,665,245.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 604,316 shares of company stock worth $87,718,000 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.