Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC decreased its position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,223,152 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 69,176 shares during the quarter. Ares Management accounts for approximately 1.2% of M&G PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. M&G PLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $211,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Ares Management by 129.6% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,988 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 99.5% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 31,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,657,000 after purchasing an additional 15,846 shares during the period. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,453,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,578,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 45,136 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,617,000 after buying an additional 16,680 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $153.81 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $160.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.8438 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 192.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

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 currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Cfra Research raised Ares Management to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.46.

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.