Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 70,572 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,998,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 239.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 181.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,525 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 7.3% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $174.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 80.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $107.69 and a 12 month high of $180.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.13.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 29,292 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 value of $5,150,119.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,280,340.38. This trade represents a 25.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.66, for a total transaction of $3,791,760.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 75,000 shares in the company, valued at $10,699,500. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 602,357 shares of company stock worth $97,672,269 over the last ninety days. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ARES. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

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.