Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 2,542 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,542 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $9,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 192,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,674,000 after buying an additional 38,047 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $106,436,000 after buying an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 45.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 82,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,000,000 after buying an additional 26,012 shares during the period. Finally, Retireful LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $696,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $174.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.54, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.96. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $107.69 and a 52-week high of $180.38.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total transaction of $10,728,750.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,536 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.63, for a total value of $2,116,877.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 631,855 shares of company stock worth $101,967,913. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a 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 MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Ares Management 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.