Marshall Wace LLP Grows Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 52.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,310 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,906 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $16,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 40,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 14,683 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 23,747 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after buying an additional 3,701 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 93,586 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,129,000 after buying an additional 33,283 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Ares Management by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,458 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 29,200.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $156.91 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a PE ratio of 70.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $145.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.87. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $96.00 and a 12 month high of $159.95.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at $63,485,288.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total value of $1,421,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 446,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,485,288.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 604,316 shares of company stock worth $87,718,000. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.42.

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.