Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Lowered to $217.00 at Barclays

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Barclays from $224.00 to $217.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.50.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $189.71 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.99. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $124.11 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $59.39 billion, a PE ratio of 87.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 555,838 shares of company stock valued at $96,785,773. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth 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. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.