Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $189.00 to $202.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 research report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.88.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.5%

ARES stock traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 713,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,428,369. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.35, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.48.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 263.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total transaction of $30,971,107.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,684 shares in the company, valued at $59,640,827.88. The trade was a 34.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total transaction of $14,347,150.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353 over the last ninety days. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $31,483,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Ares Management by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,644 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,310,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,358 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,719,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.