Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 89.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 59,700 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,955 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Ares Management by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $922,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,174 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Ares Management by 487.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 912,656 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $145,925,000 after purchasing an additional 757,293 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 1,172.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 622,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $99,579,000 after purchasing an additional 573,870 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,665,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $182.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on Ares Management from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $124.43 per share, with a total value of $59,726.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. This represents a 1.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. The trade was a 41.54% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $122.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $95.80 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.28. The company has a market cap of $40.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.50.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 10.54%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 251.16%.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.