M&G Plc Acquires New Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

M&G Plc bought a new position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES – Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the fund’s most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 125,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth about $16,643,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their ARES holdings. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 50.03% of the shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider buying and selling

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total value of $16,492,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, available at this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $16,492,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, available at this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 110,341 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.35, for a total transaction of $15,486,359.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,659 shares in the company, valued at $19,601,140.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 661,254 shares of the company’s stock for $91,687,892. 1.20% of the shares are held by company insiders.

Ares Management Equity Return

Shares of NYSE ARES fell $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.30. There were 708,509 shares of the stock traded, compared to its average volume of 1,262,655. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.05, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.27. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $96.00 and a 12-month high of $150.12.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The investment manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. In the prior-year quarter, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts as a group expect Ares Management Co. to post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.72 and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Analysts set new price targets

Several analysts had their say on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada gave shares of Ares Management an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Ares Management from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Ares Management from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

View our latest research report on ARES

Ares Management Profile

(Free Report)

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, including commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and exchange-traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.

Also see

Want to know which other hedge funds own ARES shares? Visit HoldingsChannel.com for the latest 13F filings and insider transactions for Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES – Free Report).

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