Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Cut to $161.00 by Analysts at TD Cowen

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its target price decreased by TD Cowen from $216.00 to $161.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.07.

Ares Management Price Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $137.89 on Wednesday. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $157.85 and its 200 day moving average is $168.97. The company has a market cap of $43.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.93, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $126,622,000 after acquiring an additional 32,273 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.