Parnassus Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,166 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth $53,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 36,059 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $5,277,234.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,715,346.15. This represents a 26.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,312,450. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 590,579 shares of company stock worth $89,737,173 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $170.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.50, a PEG ratio of 1.82 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. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $105.89 and a 1-year high of $175.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $161.29 and a 200-day moving average of $148.24.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 19.89%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

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.