Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases Shares of 15,000 Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 32,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,694 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $145.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,055,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,308. The stock has a market cap of $45.02 billion, a PE ratio of 66.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $152.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.95.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.41, for a total transaction of $14,041,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,061,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.41, for a total transaction of $14,041,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,061,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 702,930 shares of company stock worth $97,948,044 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $176.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

Ares Management Company 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.