Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Given New $201.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective reduced by Bank of America from $221.00 to $201.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ARES. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.38.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $117.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $113.24 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.59 and a 200 day moving average of $170.09.

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 net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value 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 $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after buying an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 223,919 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,465,433,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 807,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 66,671 shares during 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.