Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Position Increased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 453,657 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.75% of Ares Management worth $308,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 16.0% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,903 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.1% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 115,261 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,362,000 after purchasing an additional 4,501 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter valued at $653,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $566,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.42.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $143.83. 717,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,125,499. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $143.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.43. The firm has a market cap of $44.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.50, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $96.00 and a 52-week high of $155.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total value of $16,492,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total value of $16,492,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 779,315 shares of company stock valued at $109,487,356. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.