Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 192,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $29,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curated Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 199.7% during the 2nd quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,658,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $221,007,000 after buying an additional 3,321,434 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $264,729,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings 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 worth $674,183,000 after buying an additional 1,867,933 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,884,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 722.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,738,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $231,660,000 after buying an additional 1,526,856 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.10, for a total transaction of $2,261,649.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,514,328.10. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 15,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.09, for a total transaction of $2,262,789.36. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 156,031 shares in the company, valued at $22,482,506.79. The trade was a 9.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 530,453 shares of company stock valued at $78,577,065. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Ares Management Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE ARES opened at $167.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $160.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.89. The company has a market capitalization of $52.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $101.44 and a 12 month high of $175.74.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

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.