Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 36.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 59,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $15,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,950,570.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,466,929.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,950,570.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,466,929.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,958,145.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 222,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,459,354.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 622,640 shares of company stock valued at $91,378,848. 41.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Ares Management from $148.00 to $146.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Ares Management Stock Up 3.0 %

Ares Management stock opened at $164.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $101.44 and a 1-year high of $171.78. The company has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 75.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.00.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

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.