Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Holdings Trimmed by Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,421 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,003 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 29,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.15, for a total transaction of $5,127,198.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 666,030 shares of company stock valued at $109,779,010. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.6 %

Ares Management stock opened at $173.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $107.69 and a fifty-two week high of $180.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.62.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

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.