Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Prosperity Consulting Group LLC

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,930 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,619 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $4,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after buying an additional 206,996 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $460,525,000 after acquiring an additional 71,819 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 49.4% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $376,191,000 after purchasing an additional 933,664 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 24.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $308,754,000 after buying an additional 453,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,171,188 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $289,376,000 after purchasing an additional 603,676 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock traded up $3.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.40. The stock had a trading volume of 989,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,732. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $96.00 and a one year high of $155.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $143.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.10, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is presently 166.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.42.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $19,791,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total value of $19,791,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,276,239.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 779,315 shares of company stock valued at $109,487,356. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.