Zhang Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 70.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 2,088 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 4,557.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $230,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276,743 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Management from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price objective on Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Ares Management from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.94.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $10,585,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 62,500 shares in the company, valued at $10,585,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total value of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 350,684 shares in the company, valued at $59,640,827.88. The trade was a 34.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 898,990 shares of company stock valued at $148,835,332 in the last quarter. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.0%

Ares Management stock opened at $170.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.97, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.38. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $110.63 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $156.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 263.53%.

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.