Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Bought by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $12,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% during the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of ARES stock traded up $4.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $149.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,787,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,784. The company’s fifty day moving average is $139.82 and its 200 day moving average is $134.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $152.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.34 billion, a PE ratio of 65.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.49%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 166.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $176.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total value of $16,492,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 702,930 shares of company stock worth $97,948,044 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.