Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $174.94.

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 107,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $17,344,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $225,876,000. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. This trade represents a 69.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 972,035 shares of company stock worth $160,322,465. 36.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 9.1% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 746 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,303 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,004,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,427,415. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The firm's fifty day moving average is $151.71 and its 200-day moving average is $167.31. The company has a market cap of $54.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 263.53%.

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.