Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 39.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,800 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 22,494 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth $53,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 80.4% during the second quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $2.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $170.35. 723,417 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,421. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $161.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.24. The company has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a PE ratio of 77.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $105.89 and a 12 month high of $175.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management's payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,312,450. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,802,571.96. This represents a 6.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 637,776 shares of company stock valued at $96,538,104. Corporate insiders own 41.89% 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.