Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 406,363 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 10,942 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Ares Management worth $63,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 80.4% during the second quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $44,312,450. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 561,280 shares of company stock valued at $83,030,436 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES traded down $1.93 on Friday, reaching $167.09. 1,182,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,196. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.30 billion, a PE ratio of 77.48, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $101.44 and a one year high of $175.74. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $160.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their target price 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. 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.