Bank of America Lowers Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target to $201.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $221.00 to $201.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 65.63% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.38.

Ares Management Trading Down 7.1 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $121.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.28 billion, a PE ratio of 59.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $168.18 and its 200 day moving average is $170.31. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $119.00 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,687,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in Ares Management by 1,693.9% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 36,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,387,000 after purchasing an additional 34,065 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,503,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.