Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $4,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.08.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $198.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a PE ratio of 91.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $119.76 and a 1 year high of $199.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.45. 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) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at $44,312,450. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.