Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,151 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 734 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ares Management by 58.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 678,549 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $376,191,000 after buying an additional 933,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 453,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.1 %

ARES stock opened at $167.09 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $101.44 and a twelve month high of $175.74. The firm has a market cap of $52.30 billion, a PE ratio of 77.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $160.15 and a 200 day moving average of $147.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total transaction of $10,728,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 561,280 shares of company stock worth $83,030,436 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Management 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.