JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target to $174.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $176.00 to $174.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ARES. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $168.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.54, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.34. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $101.44 and a 12 month high of $175.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 20.51%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,950,570.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,466,929.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,950,570.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,466,929.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total value of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 304,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,102,893.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 622,640 shares of company stock worth $91,378,848. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in Ares Management by 717.6% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 278 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.