EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 13.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,749 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $3,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its position 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 valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% during the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 10.8% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position 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 buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total value of $1,421,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 446,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,485,288.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total value of $1,421,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at $63,485,288.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 604,316 shares of company stock valued at $87,718,000 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $156.31 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $48.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.09, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $96.00 and a 1-year high of $159.95.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 166.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ARES shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.85.

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.