Insider Buying: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Major Shareholder Purchases 100,000 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) major shareholder Ares Management Llc acquired 100,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.79 per share, with a total value of $1,479,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 38,612,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,084,717.05. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Ares Management Llc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 11th, Ares Management Llc acquired 150,000 shares of Ares Management stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.52 per share, with a total value of $2,178,000.00.
• On Monday, August 28th, Ares Management Llc acquired 7,397 shares of Ares Management stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.94 per share, with a total value of $110,511.18.
• On Thursday, August 24th, Ares Management Llc bought 37,557 shares of Ares Management stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.27 per share, with a total value of $573,495.39.
• On Tuesday, August 22nd, Ares Management Llc bought 179,168 shares of Ares Management stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.17 per share, with a total value of $2,717,978.56.
• On Monday, July 3rd, Ares Management Llc sold 6,885,415 shares of Ares Management stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $115,606,117.85.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.64. 509,282 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,575. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $58.60 and a 12 month high of $106.77. The stock has a market cap of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 64.63, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $101.19 and a 200 day moving average of $90.92.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.05. Ares Management had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 188.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on ARES shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ETF Managers Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 9,040 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Capital Impact Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,783 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,612 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.