Morse Asset Management Inc Grows Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,085 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $175.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.83. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $107.69 and a twelve month high of $180.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of Ares Management 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 666,030 shares of company stock valued at $109,779,010. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.