Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock Position Lifted by Chase Investment Counsel Corp

Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,795 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 689 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up about 1.8% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after acquiring an additional 206,996 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ares Management by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $674,183,000 after buying an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 31.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 49.4% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $376,191,000 after acquiring an additional 933,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 453,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $170.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $101.44 and a 1 year high of $175.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.49 and a 200-day moving average of $147.02.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,958,145.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 222,828 shares in the company, valued at $32,459,354.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 222,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,466,929.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 222,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,459,354.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 642,640 shares of company stock worth $94,882,147 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

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.