Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $180.38 and last traded at $179.05, with a volume of 79819 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $55.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.75 and a 200-day moving average of $149.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 28,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total transaction of $5,078,912.34. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 14,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.62, for a total value of $2,178,766.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at $200,227,500. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 645,388 shares of company stock valued at $103,931,822. 41.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $982,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,851 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 58.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ares Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $459,580,000 after purchasing an additional 175,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.