Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Decreases Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC reduced its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 32,386 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Curated Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 199.7% during the 2nd quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,658,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $221,007,000 after buying an additional 3,321,434 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth $264,729,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ares Management by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $674,183,000 after buying an additional 1,867,933 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,884,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 722.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,738,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $231,660,000 after buying an additional 1,526,856 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 110,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,711. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.69. The company has a market capitalization of $52.78 billion, a PE ratio of 76.61, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $96.00 and a 52-week high of $171.78.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 166.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.18.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at $51,102,893.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 622,640 shares of company stock valued at $91,378,848 over the last quarter. 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.