Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Increased to $162.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $136.00 to $162.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ARES. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $154.00.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $2.42 on Thursday, hitting $160.23. The stock had a trading volume of 308,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,718. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $96.00 and a twelve month high of $161.56. The company has a market capitalization of $50.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.75%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total transaction of $1,421,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 446,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,485,288.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at $161,475,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 624,316 shares of company stock worth $90,919,400 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,100,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,705,000 after buying an additional 4,996 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2,695.3% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 70,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,364,000 after acquiring an additional 67,895 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 397,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $52,831,000 after acquiring an additional 59,668 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter valued at $3,434,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Management

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.