Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Raised to $162.00 at Morgan Stanley

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $136.00 to $162.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

ARES has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. 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 target on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $155.82.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.6 %

ARES opened at $161.95 on Thursday. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $96.00 and a twelve month high of $162.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $148.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.80. The stock has a market cap of $50.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.62, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,475,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 value of $1,421,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at $63,485,288.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,475,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 624,316 shares of company stock worth $90,919,400. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 13.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,957 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,266,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $164,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.8% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 346,861 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.