Payden & Rygel Increases Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Payden & Rygel boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 129,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,900 shares during the period. Ares Management comprises approximately 1.6% of Payden & Rygel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $20,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 0.9% during the third quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 88,686 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,821,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 17,635 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 230,010 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,845,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.5 %

ARES traded up $0.92 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $171.27. The stock had a trading volume of 221,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,124. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $105.89 and a twelve month high of $175.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $53.62 billion, a PE ratio of 78.50, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $3,210,874.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 254,885 shares in the company, valued at $44,650,754.30. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 13,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.12, for a total value of $1,963,908.96. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 136,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,091.04. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 590,579 shares of company stock worth $89,737,173 in the last three months. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

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.