Larson Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 239.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,039 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total value of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 645,388 shares of company stock valued at $103,931,822 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $178.81 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $107.69 and a fifty-two week high of $178.88. The stock has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.40, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

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.