Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Raised to $185.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its target price upped by JMP Securities from $165.00 to $185.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ARES. Barclays upped their price objective on Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.6 %

Ares Management stock opened at $164.93 on Thursday. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.41 and a 200 day moving average of $167.53. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 250,180 shares of company stock worth $39,411,066 over the last three months. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 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.