Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $200.49 and last traded at $195.70, with a volume of 1964564 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $196.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.08.

Ares Management Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.19, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.44 and its 200 day moving average is $164.65.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 555,838 shares of company stock valued at $96,785,773 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 6.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after buying an additional 36,476 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% in the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Management

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.