HM Payson & Co. Acquires 704 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 117.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,207,381,000 after buying an additional 206,996 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 58.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,933 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 49.4% during 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. lifted its position in Ares Management by 24.4% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 38.5% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,171,188 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $289,376,000 after purchasing an additional 603,676 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of ARES stock opened at $162.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $101.44 and a one year high of $171.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.35. The company has a market capitalization of $50.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.50, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ares Management from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.18.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,958,145.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 222,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,459,354.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,958,145.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 222,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,459,354.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,950,570.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,466,929.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 622,640 shares of company stock valued at $91,378,848. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ares Management

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.