Forum Financial Management LP Makes New Investment in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,440 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 15.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,924 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 121,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $18,881,000 after purchasing an additional 9,038 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 5,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $5,105,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 1.4% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,070,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ARES shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Ares Management from $148.00 to $146.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.00.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $164.53 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $101.44 and a 1-year high of $171.78. The company has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.82, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $156.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 20.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total value of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 10,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.46, for a total transaction of $1,466,846.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,665,245.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management 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.