Pathstone Holdings LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 137.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,987 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,930 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 80.4% in the second quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the third 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. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $174.78 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.19 and a 200 day moving average of $149.96. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $107.69 and a 52-week high of $180.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,536 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.63, for a total value of $2,116,877.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,579 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.66, for a total value of $3,791,760.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 75,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,699,500. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 631,855 shares of company stock valued at $101,967,913 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

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.