JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 679,462 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 679,462 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 2.63% of Ares Management worth $1,284,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded down $3.22 on Friday, reaching $179.50. 375,293 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,155,141. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.19 billion, a PE ratio of 82.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $173.36 and its 200-day moving average is $155.38. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.83 and a fifty-two week high of $185.06.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total value of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at $51,102,893.98. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 634,167 shares of company stock valued at $109,917,647. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.