Analysts Set Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Target Price at $176.17

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $176.17.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $168.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.16, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $184.65 and its 200 day moving average is $168.97. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 304,823 shares of company stock worth $55,063,881. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,903,741,000 after buying an additional 223,919 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after buying an additional 807,361 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $907,534,000 after buying an additional 66,671 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.