GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $900,000 in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,775 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded down $1.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $167.21. 1,182,552 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,266,258. The firm has a market cap of $52.35 billion, a PE ratio of 77.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.44 and a fifty-two week high of $175.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.89.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 10,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.46, for a total value of $1,509,607.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 191,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,640,109.64. This trade represents a 5.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 10,223 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.47, for a total transaction of $1,476,916.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 191,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,672,650.62. This represents a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 561,280 shares of company stock valued at $83,030,436 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ARES shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.36.

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.