Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 49,646 Shares of Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lessened its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,078,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 49,646 shares during the period. Ares Management accounts for approximately 0.8% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $186,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,936,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,626,179,000 after buying an additional 1,746,376 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,308,330 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,218,084,000 after acquiring an additional 30,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 7.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,280,000 after acquiring an additional 244,286 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 0.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,902,603 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $278,941,000 after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.5% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,727,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $253,278,000 after purchasing an additional 90,101 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:ARES opened at $145.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.94, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. Ares Management Corporation has a 1-year low of $110.63 and a 1-year high of $200.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $156.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.71. 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 earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.8438 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 192.27%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 128,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total transaction of $22,971,637.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,989,059 shares of company stock valued at $355,167,794 in the last quarter. 36.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Ares Management to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.46.

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.