Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 80,769 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 1,269.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,130 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,769 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $13,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.6 %

ARES opened at $173.94 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.16, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $107.69 and a twelve month high of $180.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $166.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.62.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $10,728,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 666,030 shares of company stock valued at $109,779,010 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.