Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by BluePath Capital Management LLC

BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,246 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 19,949 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 6,576 shares during the last quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,100,000. Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,421,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in Ares Management by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 149,920 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $17,829,000 after buying an additional 29,457 shares during the period. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 66,950 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,962,000 after buying an additional 16,010 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ARES. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $154.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $176.00 to $132.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.29.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES traded up $2.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.42. 554,717 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,146. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $92.95 and a 52-week high of $150.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.20. The company has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.07, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 175,152 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.56, for a total value of $23,393,301.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total transaction of $23,394,600.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,660,399.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 175,152 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.56, for a total value of $23,393,301.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,458,640 shares of company stock worth $197,862,103. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management 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.