Blue Whale Capital LLP Invests $22.37 Million in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Blue Whale Capital LLP bought a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 143,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $22,373,000. Ares Management makes up about 1.7% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 1.4% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 40.0% in the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 10.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $175.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $107.69 and a 52-week high of $176.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $163.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.29.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARES. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of 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, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 14,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.62, for a total value of $2,178,766.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,227,500. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 613,326 shares of company stock worth $96,606,744 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

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.