Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $180.91 and last traded at $180.69, with a volume of 293528 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $176.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Up 3.6 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $168.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 247,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 719,811 shares of company stock valued at $121,845,234. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $982,058,000 after acquiring an additional 63,851 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ares Management by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after buying an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $459,580,000 after buying an additional 175,627 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Company 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.