Signaturefd LLC Increases Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,570 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the first quarter worth about $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 555.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 717.6% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 278 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.92.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ARES opened at $146.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.22. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $96.00 and a 1 year high of $155.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.99.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 166.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $16,492,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 13,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.12, for a total transaction of $1,963,908.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 136,467 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,091.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 688,653 shares of company stock worth $96,639,724. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management 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.