Eagle Asset Management Inc. Purchases 280,656 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,344,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 280,656 shares during the quarter. Ares Management comprises about 1.2% of Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 0.43% of Ares Management worth $229,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Ares Management by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,933 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after acquiring an additional 678,549 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 49.4% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $376,191,000 after purchasing an additional 933,664 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $308,754,000 after purchasing an additional 453,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 722.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,738,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $231,660,000 after buying an additional 1,526,856 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 253,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,312,450. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 518,051 shares of company stock worth $79,122,336 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $175.19 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $107.69 and a fifty-two week high of $176.31. 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 market cap of $54.84 billion, a PE ratio of 80.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.43%.

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.