Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 1,510 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $10,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in Ares Management by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 32,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $156.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $96.00 and a 1-year high of $157.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.54 billion, a PE ratio of 70.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 166.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 10,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.46, for a total value of $1,466,846.84. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,665,245.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 604,316 shares of company stock worth $87,718,000. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.