Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,289 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 652 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 80.4% in the second quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

ARES stock opened at $176.73 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $107.69 and a twelve month high of $180.38. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $165.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.39. The stock has a market cap of $55.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.53, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released 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. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.66, for a total value of $3,791,760.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,699,500. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 602,357 shares of company stock valued at $97,672,269 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

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.