Ashish Bhutani Purchases 10,000 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of ARES opened at $144.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.45 billion, a PE ratio of 70.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $178.62 and its 200 day moving average is $169.82. 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 fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

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.