The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 8,049 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 167,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,049 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $26,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $176.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a PE ratio of 81.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $165.96 and its 200-day moving average is $150.42. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $107.69 and a 52 week high of $180.38.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 28,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total transaction of $5,078,912.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,377,393.02. This represents a 24.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 602,357 shares of company stock valued at $97,672,269. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ares Management

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.