Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stake Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 453,657 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.75% of Ares Management worth $308,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 16.0% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,720,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Ares Management by 4.1% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 115,261 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,362,000 after buying an additional 4,501 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the second quarter worth $653,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the second quarter worth $566,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the second quarter worth $78,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.92.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $141.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $96.00 and a 52-week high of $155.53. The firm has a market cap of $43.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.43, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.39.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly 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. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. The business had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 166.82%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,485,288.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $19,791,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 446,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,485,288.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 779,315 shares of company stock worth $109,487,356 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.