Hamlin Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Hamlin Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,063,216 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 69,706 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up 4.3% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned 0.33% of Ares Management worth $184,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,813,445,000 after buying an additional 382,273 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,308,330 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,218,084,000 after purchasing an additional 30,451 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,354,032 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $491,735,000 after purchasing an additional 152,169 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,902,603 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $278,941,000 after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,727,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $253,278,000 after buying an additional 90,101 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Oppenheimer set a $180.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ares Management from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.31.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total value of $24,946,933.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 311,728 shares in the company, valued at $56,965,174.72. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $35,078,061.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,424,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $254,693,149.02. This trade represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock valued at $464,430,639. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE ARES opened at $141.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a PE ratio of 81.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.43. Ares Management Corporation has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 258.96%.

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.