Capital Investment Counsel LLC Has $9.10 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 7.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,550 shares during the period. Ares Management accounts for about 1.3% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $9,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Ares Management by 29.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 18,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 66,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,697,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $343,000. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cincinnati Financial Corp now owns 168,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,862,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total transaction of $8,846,975.82. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 590,000 shares of company stock valued at $90,653,808 over the last three months. 36.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price target on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $182.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.13.

Ares Management Stock Down 2.5%

ARES stock opened at $133.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $160.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.05. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 9.41%.The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 265.09%.

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.