LRI Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

LRI Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,599,176 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 223,389 shares during the quarter. Ares Management accounts for 37.7% of LRI Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. LRI Investments LLC owned approximately 0.83% of Ares Management worth $439,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 6.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 192,634 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,674,000 after buying an additional 38,047 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $106,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $900,000. Finally, Retireful LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $696,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE ARES traded down $2.82 during trading on Monday, hitting $175.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,613,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,170. The company has a market capitalization of $54.86 billion, a PE ratio of 82.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $110.41 and a 12 month high of $180.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $167.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.40, for a total value of $1,930,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 376,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,162,788.80. This represents a 3.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 598,530 shares of company stock valued at $100,265,260 over the last three months. Insiders own 41.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ares Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $166.36.

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.