BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 122.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,222 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 66,734 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Ares Management were worth $18,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 80.4% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter valued at about $78,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,276,239.48. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 28,887 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total transaction of $5,078,912.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,377,393.02. This represents a 24.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 602,357 shares of company stock worth $97,672,269 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $176.73 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $107.69 and a 1-year high of $180.38. The company has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a PE ratio of 81.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $165.96 and a 200-day moving average of $150.42.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.43%.

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.