Ares Management Corporation $ARES Stock: Ethic Inc. Reduces Holdings

Ethic Inc. cut its position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 26.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,888 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vulcan Value Partners LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,902,580 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $211,776,000 after purchasing an additional 211,404 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,653,078 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $180,343,000 after acquiring an additional 503,688 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 968.3% during the 3rd quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,450,854 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $168,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,043 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $118,830,000 after acquiring an additional 63,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $98,392,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ARES. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.21.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $134.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Ares Management Corporation has a 1-year low of $95.80 and a 1-year high of $181.19.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.70 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 17th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 435.48%.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation is a global alternative investment manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. Its strategies include direct lending, liquid and opportunistic credit, asset-based finance, private equity investing, and real estate debt and equity. Founded in 1997, the firm serves institutional and individual investors through investment funds and other vehicles. Ares operates across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.