Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 14.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,547 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,813,445,000 after purchasing an additional 382,273 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,208,292 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $177,148,000 after acquiring an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth about $26,350,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Ares Management by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,128,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $165,437,000 after acquiring an additional 174,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $491,735,000 after acquiring an additional 152,169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 128,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total value of $22,971,637.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock valued at $464,430,639. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $141.74 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a PE ratio of 81.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.34.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities increased their target price on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on Ares Management from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.31.

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.